This Saturday at 10 AM at First Church West Dr. Norman Wise will be presenting his new seminar "Succeeding At Relationships". Come and find out about the dynamics that can make relationships work. This is a totally free seminar.
First Church West is located 1/4 mile past Flamingo Road on Broward Blvd. The address is
12700 West Broward Blvd
Plantation, Florida 33325
Call 954-452-4407 for directions and more information
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Am I drifting from God?
Jeremiah 2:4-13
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves? 6 They did not say, "Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?" 7 I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. 8 The priests did not say, "Where is the Lord?" Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit.
9 Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord, and I accuse your children's children. 10 Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing. 11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water
God asks us hard questions here. What do you find in the LORD that caused you to desert HIM? What was wrong with God’s character and competence that the LORD was not worth making your ultimate concern?
Now God is talking to HIS people at a time of backsliding and unbelief. The LORD is speaking to us on one of those days when we have been living out our unbelief much more than our faith. Perhaps it has become more than a day. Maybe, it has become a month, a quarter, or even a year. Normally we slip step by step backward and suddenly find ourselves in a spiritual place that is a land of drought and deep darkness.
Maybe today you find it hard to relate to this passage because today you have been living mainly by faith. You find it hard to imagine because the last month, quarter, or year has been one in which you have seen your faith grow. It is difficult for you today to even imagine backsliding into a dark spiritual place. Yet, be aware that only by guarding ourselves against falling into such insanity can we avoid it. The history of God’s people is that we a prone to eventually drift away. So this passage is a good reminder to be careful to maintain your faith and not take it for granted.
God spends most of his time talking to the people of the nation. He sees that the loss of faith is ultimately one that takes place on the level of the individual heart. While political rulers, priests, and prophets all hold great responsibility for encouraging idol worship, neglecting a call to prayer, and failure to proclaim God’s word, this does not excuse the people themselves for their deserting their Divine Savior who redeemed them. We can never blame leaders for our failures of faith. They are responsible for their sins and we are responsible for our sins.
Now the United States is not Israel. That is important to remember since we have had times when we see ourselves in that role. The Church is spiritual Israel. No national state is now the chosen people but rather the chosen people are of called from all nations to form God’s nation, the kingdom of God.
But, with this reminder it would be good to take note that the United States as a culture is moving from being a society dedicated to a Christian vision of God based on the Bible to a generic god of our own creation, an idol that justifies all our actions. The reason our moral and ethics are changing is because our faith is changing.
What evidence is there that this is the case? Here are just a few signs of the times.
Gallup reports that from 1948 to 2009 the percentage of people who identify themselves as Christian has dropped from 91% to 77%. In 1948 on 2% of Americans would say that they were not religious at all and that number is now at 12%. This is the fastest growing social group in the nation. The percentage of Americans identifying as Protestant or another non-Catholic Christian religion has been declining since the mid-1960s. When Gallup began tracking religious identification, the percentage of U.S. adults identifying with some non-Catholic Christian religion was routinely in the high 60%-low 70% range. The percentage fell below 60% for the first time in 1979, and since 2000 has been between 55% and 57%. This means that a faith that represents strong biblical principles founded on the reformation is declining. Faith in the Bible being the inspired word of God in which every word can be trusted to be inspired has declined from 38% (average in 1976-1984) to about 31% today (average from 1997 to 2007). All of these surveys indicate that we are moving away from God’s truth and not towards it as a society.
Now faith within the visible church is also struggling. George Barna reports the following information about how many people follow a Christian world view in America. Here is what Barna says:
“Defining Terms
For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.
National Results
Overall, the current research revealed that only 9% of all American adults have a biblical worldview. Among the sixty subgroups of respondents that the survey explored was one defined by those who said they have made a personal to commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today and that they are certain that they will go to Heaven after they die only because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior. Labeled “born again Christians,” the study discovered that they were twice as likely as the average adult to possess a biblical worldview. However, that meant that even among born again Christians, less than one out of every five (19%) had such an outlook on life.
The same questions were asked of respondents in national surveys by Barna in 1995, 2000 and 2005. The results indicate that the percentage of adults with a biblical worldview, as defined above, has remained unchanged for more than a decade. The numbers show that 7% had such a worldview in 1995, compared to 10% in 2000, 11% in 2005, and 9% now. Even among born again adults, the statistics have remained flat: 18% in 1995, 22% in 2000, 21% in 2005, and 19% today.”
On one hand we are not seeing a decline in those who hold a biblical world view over the last 10 years but the total number of Americans holding this world view is about nineteen million out of a population of roughly 217 million adults. We can be a significant influence. But we are only a minority and we are not growing.
We need to have reformation in the Church, which is a return to a biblical world view.
We need to have renewal in the Church, which is a return to a living and passionate spirituality.
We need to have revival in the society, which is an experience of God’s saving grace in the gospel of Messiah Jesus.
To do this we must check our own spiritual direction today. Are we moving in the direction of having more faith or are we moving in the direction of having less faith.
Are we neglecting spiritual disciplines such as fasting, prayer, biblical meditation, giving to the poor, study of scripture, witnessing, and praise?
How consistently do we seek the LORD?
What do we seek when we need to find encouragement for our souls? Is it something outside of the Christian faith? Is this an idol in our life?
Whatever becomes the ultimate concern of our lives has become our God.
What is the ultimate concern of my life at this moment?
Have you been back sliding? Is your faith less than it was a year ago? What has weakened your faith? How could this be overcome? What could you do to grow in faith again? What most nurtures your faith? Do you need to take a weekend with be with God and talk out your frustrations and fears with the LORD? Why is it hard to say no to temptation? How could your strength to overcome your temptations be increased?
Is your faith greater than it was a year ago? How could it become even greater? What spiritual challenge do you need to accept from God? What steps should you take to prevent back sliding? What can you do to build up your local church? How could you be a blessing to your congregation? How could your faith impact your friends, neighbors, family, and associates in a greater way? How do you plan to seek as the ultimate concern of your life the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness?
God is faithful. The LORD knows that we drift away. The Lord brings reformation, renewal, and revival. The Messiah Jesus will build HIS church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. If God is for us then who can be against us? With hopeful faith we must pray for reformation, renewal, and revival. Seize the day for Christ Jesus!
(The nearly daily devotional is a ministry of First Church West. More information about this fellowship can be found at firstchurchwest.net. If you do not regularly receive this e-mail devotional then you can be put on the list by e-mailing terry_wise@bellsouth.net and asking receive the devotional.)
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves? 6 They did not say, "Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?" 7 I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. 8 The priests did not say, "Where is the Lord?" Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit.
9 Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord, and I accuse your children's children. 10 Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing. 11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water
God asks us hard questions here. What do you find in the LORD that caused you to desert HIM? What was wrong with God’s character and competence that the LORD was not worth making your ultimate concern?
Now God is talking to HIS people at a time of backsliding and unbelief. The LORD is speaking to us on one of those days when we have been living out our unbelief much more than our faith. Perhaps it has become more than a day. Maybe, it has become a month, a quarter, or even a year. Normally we slip step by step backward and suddenly find ourselves in a spiritual place that is a land of drought and deep darkness.
Maybe today you find it hard to relate to this passage because today you have been living mainly by faith. You find it hard to imagine because the last month, quarter, or year has been one in which you have seen your faith grow. It is difficult for you today to even imagine backsliding into a dark spiritual place. Yet, be aware that only by guarding ourselves against falling into such insanity can we avoid it. The history of God’s people is that we a prone to eventually drift away. So this passage is a good reminder to be careful to maintain your faith and not take it for granted.
God spends most of his time talking to the people of the nation. He sees that the loss of faith is ultimately one that takes place on the level of the individual heart. While political rulers, priests, and prophets all hold great responsibility for encouraging idol worship, neglecting a call to prayer, and failure to proclaim God’s word, this does not excuse the people themselves for their deserting their Divine Savior who redeemed them. We can never blame leaders for our failures of faith. They are responsible for their sins and we are responsible for our sins.
Now the United States is not Israel. That is important to remember since we have had times when we see ourselves in that role. The Church is spiritual Israel. No national state is now the chosen people but rather the chosen people are of called from all nations to form God’s nation, the kingdom of God.
But, with this reminder it would be good to take note that the United States as a culture is moving from being a society dedicated to a Christian vision of God based on the Bible to a generic god of our own creation, an idol that justifies all our actions. The reason our moral and ethics are changing is because our faith is changing.
What evidence is there that this is the case? Here are just a few signs of the times.
Gallup reports that from 1948 to 2009 the percentage of people who identify themselves as Christian has dropped from 91% to 77%. In 1948 on 2% of Americans would say that they were not religious at all and that number is now at 12%. This is the fastest growing social group in the nation. The percentage of Americans identifying as Protestant or another non-Catholic Christian religion has been declining since the mid-1960s. When Gallup began tracking religious identification, the percentage of U.S. adults identifying with some non-Catholic Christian religion was routinely in the high 60%-low 70% range. The percentage fell below 60% for the first time in 1979, and since 2000 has been between 55% and 57%. This means that a faith that represents strong biblical principles founded on the reformation is declining. Faith in the Bible being the inspired word of God in which every word can be trusted to be inspired has declined from 38% (average in 1976-1984) to about 31% today (average from 1997 to 2007). All of these surveys indicate that we are moving away from God’s truth and not towards it as a society.
Now faith within the visible church is also struggling. George Barna reports the following information about how many people follow a Christian world view in America. Here is what Barna says:
“Defining Terms
For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.
National Results
Overall, the current research revealed that only 9% of all American adults have a biblical worldview. Among the sixty subgroups of respondents that the survey explored was one defined by those who said they have made a personal to commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today and that they are certain that they will go to Heaven after they die only because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior. Labeled “born again Christians,” the study discovered that they were twice as likely as the average adult to possess a biblical worldview. However, that meant that even among born again Christians, less than one out of every five (19%) had such an outlook on life.
The same questions were asked of respondents in national surveys by Barna in 1995, 2000 and 2005. The results indicate that the percentage of adults with a biblical worldview, as defined above, has remained unchanged for more than a decade. The numbers show that 7% had such a worldview in 1995, compared to 10% in 2000, 11% in 2005, and 9% now. Even among born again adults, the statistics have remained flat: 18% in 1995, 22% in 2000, 21% in 2005, and 19% today.”
On one hand we are not seeing a decline in those who hold a biblical world view over the last 10 years but the total number of Americans holding this world view is about nineteen million out of a population of roughly 217 million adults. We can be a significant influence. But we are only a minority and we are not growing.
We need to have reformation in the Church, which is a return to a biblical world view.
We need to have renewal in the Church, which is a return to a living and passionate spirituality.
We need to have revival in the society, which is an experience of God’s saving grace in the gospel of Messiah Jesus.
To do this we must check our own spiritual direction today. Are we moving in the direction of having more faith or are we moving in the direction of having less faith.
Are we neglecting spiritual disciplines such as fasting, prayer, biblical meditation, giving to the poor, study of scripture, witnessing, and praise?
How consistently do we seek the LORD?
What do we seek when we need to find encouragement for our souls? Is it something outside of the Christian faith? Is this an idol in our life?
Whatever becomes the ultimate concern of our lives has become our God.
What is the ultimate concern of my life at this moment?
Have you been back sliding? Is your faith less than it was a year ago? What has weakened your faith? How could this be overcome? What could you do to grow in faith again? What most nurtures your faith? Do you need to take a weekend with be with God and talk out your frustrations and fears with the LORD? Why is it hard to say no to temptation? How could your strength to overcome your temptations be increased?
Is your faith greater than it was a year ago? How could it become even greater? What spiritual challenge do you need to accept from God? What steps should you take to prevent back sliding? What can you do to build up your local church? How could you be a blessing to your congregation? How could your faith impact your friends, neighbors, family, and associates in a greater way? How do you plan to seek as the ultimate concern of your life the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness?
God is faithful. The LORD knows that we drift away. The Lord brings reformation, renewal, and revival. The Messiah Jesus will build HIS church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. If God is for us then who can be against us? With hopeful faith we must pray for reformation, renewal, and revival. Seize the day for Christ Jesus!
(The nearly daily devotional is a ministry of First Church West. More information about this fellowship can be found at firstchurchwest.net. If you do not regularly receive this e-mail devotional then you can be put on the list by e-mailing terry_wise@bellsouth.net and asking receive the devotional.)
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
New Book: Succeeding At Life
This book written by Dr. Norman Wise, has a process that can effectively teach you how to live a sane, stable, and spiritual life. It not only has information but it has a method which has effectively helped thousands to improve the quality of their lives and gain self control. It teaches a process of change that can radically help transform your life. It teaches you how to have a right relationship with your own emotions and thoughts. It outlines how you can make peace with your painful past and how to plan for your abundant future. The program suggested will help you get rid of false guilt and how to deal with real guilt. It is based on ancient wisdom but applied to the 21st century. It has been written to provide a tool box to help you be equipped to succeed at life. Order today
Go to amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Succeeding-Life-Living-Stable-Spiritual/dp/1453726012/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282132708&sr=1-12
Go to amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Succeeding-Life-Living-Stable-Spiritual/dp/1453726012/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282132708&sr=1-12
Friday, August 06, 2010
Hang on to sanity during hard times
We face hard times in our lives.
Times when we are powerless such as when one we love dies.
Or times when we feel homeless when we suffer significant financial loss.
Or times we feel orphaned when people we love betray us and abandon us.
Or times we feel victimized as people abuse us emotionally. physically and verbally.
At such times it is easy to give into insanity. It is easy to give ourselves up to the dark emotions of depression, rage, and bitterness. We feel justified in doing crazy things because crazy things are happening to us. We decide to return crazy with crazy. This by the way only leads to more crazy.
We are not in control of circumstances or others. We are not responsible for circumstances or others. Our control is only control over ourselves. We can remain sane and stable in the midst of hard, painful, and dark times. We do not have to surrender our sanity just because our world has gone insane.
Now to do this we will need God's help. We must turn our anxiety and fears over to HIM. We must comfort our heart by telling us the truth about HIS perfect love for us and how Messiah Jesus died for our sins. We must ask for HIS help in having self control. Bad circumstances and abusive behavior does not have to make us crazy. We can choose to remain sane before the face of God day by day.
May the LORD help you remain sane even during insane times.
Times when we are powerless such as when one we love dies.
Or times when we feel homeless when we suffer significant financial loss.
Or times we feel orphaned when people we love betray us and abandon us.
Or times we feel victimized as people abuse us emotionally. physically and verbally.
At such times it is easy to give into insanity. It is easy to give ourselves up to the dark emotions of depression, rage, and bitterness. We feel justified in doing crazy things because crazy things are happening to us. We decide to return crazy with crazy. This by the way only leads to more crazy.
We are not in control of circumstances or others. We are not responsible for circumstances or others. Our control is only control over ourselves. We can remain sane and stable in the midst of hard, painful, and dark times. We do not have to surrender our sanity just because our world has gone insane.
Now to do this we will need God's help. We must turn our anxiety and fears over to HIM. We must comfort our heart by telling us the truth about HIS perfect love for us and how Messiah Jesus died for our sins. We must ask for HIS help in having self control. Bad circumstances and abusive behavior does not have to make us crazy. We can choose to remain sane before the face of God day by day.
May the LORD help you remain sane even during insane times.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Father's Unfailing Love
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.
They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me. The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates, and devour them because of their own counsels. My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.
How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.
They shall go after the LORD; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west; they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria, and I will return them to their homes, declares the LORD. (Hosea 11:1-11 ESV)
It would seem clear from reading the Bible that parents are not responsible for the behavior of their children. One key example of this truth is that God is the Father of His people and they are always rebelling against HIM. God is a perfect Father. Yet, HIS children do not obey.
God loves HIS children. He communicates them HIS love. He invites them into a healthy relationship with HIM but instead they follow other gods. God the Father teaches His children, heals them, and feeds them. Yet, they go astray.
At the time this passage was written the apostasy of Israel had brought upon them the promised results. If they did not want to be the children of God then they could return to the world. The EXODUS could be reversed. From the nations they were created and to the nations they could return. Assyria will come and take the ten tribes into captivity because they had rebelled.
But, as the heavenly Father sees the just and logical consequences of the sins of his covenant children HE cannot just let them go. How can he allow them to be destroyed like Admah and Zeboiim, two minor cities that were destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah? No, the FATHER’s great compassion cannot allow that to be their end. He will bring revival to Israel. He will give them life again.
Here we see God’s great grace motivated by HIS great love. He will wake up HIS spiritually sleeping children and they will return to HIM. He will save the nation and they will fulfill HIS redemptive purpose in history. God’s grace will satisfy God’s justice and bring the kingdom of God to the earth. God’s grace gives hope.
Now God’s election works at many different levels. God the Father elects individuals to have personal faith in Messiah Jesus and be His disciples in a broken world. God the Father has also elected to create a new community “The Church” which is the “new Israel” made up of both Jew and Gentile believers to be His covenant people (see Ephesians 2). God the Father has also elected to bring all of physical Israel and most of the middle east to faith before the final coming (see Romans 11 and Isaiah 19:19-25). God works with both individuals and with groups.
God, the creator of the world, is the ruler of the nations. What is the basic principle by which God works among the nations?
If I threaten to uproot and shatter an evil nation and that nation turns from its evil, I will change my mind. If I promise to make a nation strong, but its people start disobeying me and doing evil, then I will change my mind and not help them at all. (Jeremiah 18:7-10 CEV)
So God is at work to establish justice among the nations but mixes this with mercy and compassion. Like Nineveh, rebellious nations can be spared (see Jonah). Repentance is always the wisest choice for nations, churches, or individuals (Revelation 2 & 3).
Today let us remember that God is our heavenly Father. He has adopted us in Messiah Jesus. He has given us the same relationship with HIM as Messiah Jesus has with HIM. We have become the “sons and daughters of God”. He gave this gift to us. It was 100% motivated by HIS great love. It was given to us by grace alone.
How have we rebelled against HIM today? What actions, words, and attitudes are not conformed to HIS will? What idols (objects of ultimate concern) do we have in our lives?
Do you hear the Heavenly Father calling out to you today? Do you hear HIS invitation to come home? Are you ready to return to HIS will for your life and the warm embrace of HIS unconditional love?
Remember, the heavenly FATHER who began a good work in you will see to it that you finish the race well and are with HIM forever in glory. HE never fails to save any of HIS true children. Find joy in HIS grace and love this day.
They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me. The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates, and devour them because of their own counsels. My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.
How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.
They shall go after the LORD; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west; they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria, and I will return them to their homes, declares the LORD. (Hosea 11:1-11 ESV)
It would seem clear from reading the Bible that parents are not responsible for the behavior of their children. One key example of this truth is that God is the Father of His people and they are always rebelling against HIM. God is a perfect Father. Yet, HIS children do not obey.
God loves HIS children. He communicates them HIS love. He invites them into a healthy relationship with HIM but instead they follow other gods. God the Father teaches His children, heals them, and feeds them. Yet, they go astray.
At the time this passage was written the apostasy of Israel had brought upon them the promised results. If they did not want to be the children of God then they could return to the world. The EXODUS could be reversed. From the nations they were created and to the nations they could return. Assyria will come and take the ten tribes into captivity because they had rebelled.
But, as the heavenly Father sees the just and logical consequences of the sins of his covenant children HE cannot just let them go. How can he allow them to be destroyed like Admah and Zeboiim, two minor cities that were destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah? No, the FATHER’s great compassion cannot allow that to be their end. He will bring revival to Israel. He will give them life again.
Here we see God’s great grace motivated by HIS great love. He will wake up HIS spiritually sleeping children and they will return to HIM. He will save the nation and they will fulfill HIS redemptive purpose in history. God’s grace will satisfy God’s justice and bring the kingdom of God to the earth. God’s grace gives hope.
Now God’s election works at many different levels. God the Father elects individuals to have personal faith in Messiah Jesus and be His disciples in a broken world. God the Father has also elected to create a new community “The Church” which is the “new Israel” made up of both Jew and Gentile believers to be His covenant people (see Ephesians 2). God the Father has also elected to bring all of physical Israel and most of the middle east to faith before the final coming (see Romans 11 and Isaiah 19:19-25). God works with both individuals and with groups.
God, the creator of the world, is the ruler of the nations. What is the basic principle by which God works among the nations?
If I threaten to uproot and shatter an evil nation and that nation turns from its evil, I will change my mind. If I promise to make a nation strong, but its people start disobeying me and doing evil, then I will change my mind and not help them at all. (Jeremiah 18:7-10 CEV)
So God is at work to establish justice among the nations but mixes this with mercy and compassion. Like Nineveh, rebellious nations can be spared (see Jonah). Repentance is always the wisest choice for nations, churches, or individuals (Revelation 2 & 3).
Today let us remember that God is our heavenly Father. He has adopted us in Messiah Jesus. He has given us the same relationship with HIM as Messiah Jesus has with HIM. We have become the “sons and daughters of God”. He gave this gift to us. It was 100% motivated by HIS great love. It was given to us by grace alone.
How have we rebelled against HIM today? What actions, words, and attitudes are not conformed to HIS will? What idols (objects of ultimate concern) do we have in our lives?
Do you hear the Heavenly Father calling out to you today? Do you hear HIS invitation to come home? Are you ready to return to HIS will for your life and the warm embrace of HIS unconditional love?
Remember, the heavenly FATHER who began a good work in you will see to it that you finish the race well and are with HIM forever in glory. HE never fails to save any of HIS true children. Find joy in HIS grace and love this day.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Be a peace maker
As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. Try your best to let God's Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3 CEV)
Eph 4:3
(ASV) giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
(CEV) Try your best to let God's Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace.
(DRB) Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
(EMTV) being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
(ESV) eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
(GNB) Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together.
How can the church maintain the unity that the Holy Spirit has created by baptizing us into the body of Christ? How can we live in guietness and rest with each other. How can we keep our relationships right?
None of this is easy. Sin's first impact was to divide the man and the woman in shame from each other. Christians have struggled to have emotionally healthy relationships since the first century. So how can we strive to obey this command? How can we move in the direction of preserving the unity and peace of the body of Christ?
I believe that the first step is prayer. We must really pray for each other. If I am praying for my brother or sister sincerely then it is less likely that I will say or do things to hurt them. Now, the prayer has to be an honest prayer and not a self righteous judgment in the form of a prayer. I have to actually be praying the Lord will bless my brother or sister. I also have to pray that God will restore and reconcile our relationship.
I also have to remind myself of the common ground that I have with every other Christian. We all have the same heavenly Father. We all have the same Savior. The Holy Spirit is in both of us. We share a common faith and the common goal of the kingdom of God. We are forever family. This bond is actually stronger that that of blood from God's perspective.
I need to grant the judgment of charity, love, mercy, and grace to my brother or sister when they do or say something wrong, foolish, or confusing. What would be the best motivation my brother or sister could have had for doing or saying this? We must not demonize each other or think that our brother or sister only had the darkest and most vile motivations when they did something. Our emotions are controlled by the story we tell ourselves. If we tell ourselves a horror story then our feelings will become filled with fear and anger. We must tell ourselves the best story we can about what has happened since only God knows the heart. When I make my brother or sister a monster this is most likely not God's view of my brother or sister.
Judge thyself with the judgment of sincerity, and thou will judge others with the judgment of charity. — John Mitchell Mason
We must follow Matthew 18
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
(Matthew 18:15-17 ESV)
We must understand that while gossip, rumor spreading, and murmuring come naturally to us this has never helped to protect the unity of the church or promote peace. We must face the self rightous roots of all such behavior and dedicate ourselves to going to people one on one when we have conflicts or have been hurt. If we cannot find reconcilation we must press on and get counseling with people where there is division. Some things may not be able to be fixed but we need to know that we have really attempted in every way humanly to find reconcilation. Whenever we do not have reconcilation in a relationship we have fallen short of God's perfect will. As much as it relies upon us we need to seek to have peace (Rom 12:18).
I find this hard to do. I think we all do. I think I have not sought for outside counsel when I should have in order to find reconciation when my own efforts failed. I have left to many things half fixed or unfixed simply because I did not know how to make them any better. I am challenged to work harder to solve these problems and not think they will just go away. We must strive to have a real unity in the body and one free of unhealthy division. We must be an emotionally healthy church.
I want to be a peace maker. I hope that each of us can strive to find ways to be kind to each other and seek harmony in the body of Christ. May God have mercy on us and help us be an emotionally heathy body of Christ.
Eph 4:3
(ASV) giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
(CEV) Try your best to let God's Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace.
(DRB) Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
(EMTV) being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
(ESV) eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
(GNB) Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together.
How can the church maintain the unity that the Holy Spirit has created by baptizing us into the body of Christ? How can we live in guietness and rest with each other. How can we keep our relationships right?
None of this is easy. Sin's first impact was to divide the man and the woman in shame from each other. Christians have struggled to have emotionally healthy relationships since the first century. So how can we strive to obey this command? How can we move in the direction of preserving the unity and peace of the body of Christ?
I believe that the first step is prayer. We must really pray for each other. If I am praying for my brother or sister sincerely then it is less likely that I will say or do things to hurt them. Now, the prayer has to be an honest prayer and not a self righteous judgment in the form of a prayer. I have to actually be praying the Lord will bless my brother or sister. I also have to pray that God will restore and reconcile our relationship.
I also have to remind myself of the common ground that I have with every other Christian. We all have the same heavenly Father. We all have the same Savior. The Holy Spirit is in both of us. We share a common faith and the common goal of the kingdom of God. We are forever family. This bond is actually stronger that that of blood from God's perspective.
I need to grant the judgment of charity, love, mercy, and grace to my brother or sister when they do or say something wrong, foolish, or confusing. What would be the best motivation my brother or sister could have had for doing or saying this? We must not demonize each other or think that our brother or sister only had the darkest and most vile motivations when they did something. Our emotions are controlled by the story we tell ourselves. If we tell ourselves a horror story then our feelings will become filled with fear and anger. We must tell ourselves the best story we can about what has happened since only God knows the heart. When I make my brother or sister a monster this is most likely not God's view of my brother or sister.
Judge thyself with the judgment of sincerity, and thou will judge others with the judgment of charity. — John Mitchell Mason
We must follow Matthew 18
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
(Matthew 18:15-17 ESV)
We must understand that while gossip, rumor spreading, and murmuring come naturally to us this has never helped to protect the unity of the church or promote peace. We must face the self rightous roots of all such behavior and dedicate ourselves to going to people one on one when we have conflicts or have been hurt. If we cannot find reconcilation we must press on and get counseling with people where there is division. Some things may not be able to be fixed but we need to know that we have really attempted in every way humanly to find reconcilation. Whenever we do not have reconcilation in a relationship we have fallen short of God's perfect will. As much as it relies upon us we need to seek to have peace (Rom 12:18).
I find this hard to do. I think we all do. I think I have not sought for outside counsel when I should have in order to find reconciation when my own efforts failed. I have left to many things half fixed or unfixed simply because I did not know how to make them any better. I am challenged to work harder to solve these problems and not think they will just go away. We must strive to have a real unity in the body and one free of unhealthy division. We must be an emotionally healthy church.
I want to be a peace maker. I hope that each of us can strive to find ways to be kind to each other and seek harmony in the body of Christ. May God have mercy on us and help us be an emotionally heathy body of Christ.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Endure Trouble
be patient in tribulation (ESV)
Be patient in time of trouble (CEV)
Enduring in tribulation (EMTV)
Be patient in your troubles (GNB)
This passage would tell us to stay under the rule of faith and persevere during times when we are under pressure from difficult circumstances such as persecution, afflictions, disease, famine, poverty, broken relationships, loneliness, political oppression, rejection, abandonment, and abuse. We are not to flee from faith when we face hardships but to hold fast to our faith in Messiah Jesus during the hardest of times. The Apostle Paul would encourage us to be brave and not panic during times of trouble.
We live in a society that is not very patient. We do not endure a lack of pleasure or pain very long or very well. We live in an "instant" society and want immediate results. The idea of trusting God during hard and dark times is the opposite of what we would expect we would have to do. A call to be remain faithful to God and faith even when God is not keeping bad things from happening in my life is a difficult concept. This is especially true if by the giving up of our faith we can get rid of the pressure we are under. Messiah Jesus warns that some will receive the gospel with great joy but when persecutions and hardships arise will fall away. If the roots of our faith are shallow then that faith will not endure.
It is clear the Apostles did not have a theology that said that if a person had faith they would not have tribulation and trouble in this life. The normal Christian life is one where people struggle and suffer. Faith helps us endure the suffering it does not keep the suffering from coming into our lives. We live in a time when one of the central doctrines of faith in America is that God will rapture all Christians out of the world so they will not have to suffer tribulation. It is vital to the faith of many that they will not have to endure such a time of great trouble. Now prophecy aside, what we do know is that Christians do suffer great trouble and have suffered great tribulation during all of Church history.
In this year alone an estimated 175,000 people will be killed because of their faith in Messiah Jesus. There are millions of Christians who suffer persecution under oppressive governments around the world today. They are patient in their tribulation. Regardless of our prophecy we must be ready to endure trouble, persecution, oppression, ridicule, and poverty for the sake of Messiah Jesus.
Paul is really saying that true love for Messiah Jesus will endure all things. Our faith is a relationship of committed love. As we suffer various problems we need to gain God's strength in the relationship we have because of Messiah Jesus' death for our sins and resurrection from the dead. Seeing His love for us should inspire us to trust and love Him as well.
To be patient in my troubles also means that I will not give into frustration and anger. Most of our abuse of others occurs during times when we feel under pressure. Our worst outbursts of anger come when things go wrong in our life and we feel pain. We forget that undisciplined human anger cannot make things right. The gospel calls us to bless people in our pain even as Messiah Jesus prayed for those who crucified HIM. Part of living a life of love is learning to exercise self control when we are under pressure.
How can I increase my ability to be patient when suffering and not give in to frustration, anger, and fear? One way is to remind myself of eternity and the hope of Christ's perfect kingdom. Tribulation will not be forever. It is just a short time and then I will be free of pain and know only God's warm embrace forever. Another is to believe that there is purpose in all pain. God is at work in the trouble to bring about something good in my soul and in the world. All pain is pregnant with kingdom potential. When I know that there is a purpose in my suffering it helps me endure the pain. Finally, my kingdom focused suffering allows me to better understand the heart of Messiah Jesus. As I take up my cross daily and suffer for God's kingdom, I become more like Messiah Jesus in HIS taking up the cross for my sins. My suffering makes me more like my Lord Jesus
Be patient in time of trouble (CEV)
Enduring in tribulation (EMTV)
Be patient in your troubles (GNB)
This passage would tell us to stay under the rule of faith and persevere during times when we are under pressure from difficult circumstances such as persecution, afflictions, disease, famine, poverty, broken relationships, loneliness, political oppression, rejection, abandonment, and abuse. We are not to flee from faith when we face hardships but to hold fast to our faith in Messiah Jesus during the hardest of times. The Apostle Paul would encourage us to be brave and not panic during times of trouble.
We live in a society that is not very patient. We do not endure a lack of pleasure or pain very long or very well. We live in an "instant" society and want immediate results. The idea of trusting God during hard and dark times is the opposite of what we would expect we would have to do. A call to be remain faithful to God and faith even when God is not keeping bad things from happening in my life is a difficult concept. This is especially true if by the giving up of our faith we can get rid of the pressure we are under. Messiah Jesus warns that some will receive the gospel with great joy but when persecutions and hardships arise will fall away. If the roots of our faith are shallow then that faith will not endure.
It is clear the Apostles did not have a theology that said that if a person had faith they would not have tribulation and trouble in this life. The normal Christian life is one where people struggle and suffer. Faith helps us endure the suffering it does not keep the suffering from coming into our lives. We live in a time when one of the central doctrines of faith in America is that God will rapture all Christians out of the world so they will not have to suffer tribulation. It is vital to the faith of many that they will not have to endure such a time of great trouble. Now prophecy aside, what we do know is that Christians do suffer great trouble and have suffered great tribulation during all of Church history.
In this year alone an estimated 175,000 people will be killed because of their faith in Messiah Jesus. There are millions of Christians who suffer persecution under oppressive governments around the world today. They are patient in their tribulation. Regardless of our prophecy we must be ready to endure trouble, persecution, oppression, ridicule, and poverty for the sake of Messiah Jesus.
Paul is really saying that true love for Messiah Jesus will endure all things. Our faith is a relationship of committed love. As we suffer various problems we need to gain God's strength in the relationship we have because of Messiah Jesus' death for our sins and resurrection from the dead. Seeing His love for us should inspire us to trust and love Him as well.
To be patient in my troubles also means that I will not give into frustration and anger. Most of our abuse of others occurs during times when we feel under pressure. Our worst outbursts of anger come when things go wrong in our life and we feel pain. We forget that undisciplined human anger cannot make things right. The gospel calls us to bless people in our pain even as Messiah Jesus prayed for those who crucified HIM. Part of living a life of love is learning to exercise self control when we are under pressure.
How can I increase my ability to be patient when suffering and not give in to frustration, anger, and fear? One way is to remind myself of eternity and the hope of Christ's perfect kingdom. Tribulation will not be forever. It is just a short time and then I will be free of pain and know only God's warm embrace forever. Another is to believe that there is purpose in all pain. God is at work in the trouble to bring about something good in my soul and in the world. All pain is pregnant with kingdom potential. When I know that there is a purpose in my suffering it helps me endure the pain. Finally, my kingdom focused suffering allows me to better understand the heart of Messiah Jesus. As I take up my cross daily and suffer for God's kingdom, I become more like Messiah Jesus in HIS taking up the cross for my sins. My suffering makes me more like my Lord Jesus
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