Proclaiming His Goodness

Our recent celebration of Independence Day got me going on a train of thought that is not too pretty; but then, the situation our nation is in is pretty ugly, too.

The United States of America has been incredibly blessed by God, because it started out as a nation governed by men who feared God. Now, the majority of the men and women governing our nation seem to think that they don’t need God, and our nation is falling apart at the seams. Gashes have been made in the core of our nation’s being, and government officials are trying to fix them with Band-Aids. The underlying issues are being ignored as politicians try to keep the public happy.

As our social issues have grown, so many things have been distorted, and one of those things is the definition of love. The popular misconception is that love is doing what makes the other person feel good, but that is simply not true; love is doing what is best for the other person, even if it means immediate pain instead of pleasure. The American public denies God’s existence and curses Him, then accuses Him of not being a loving God. If God has been pushed out, how can we expect the blessings that come from being in fellowship with Him? The only reason America has deteriorated is because of choices we have made. God can do anything, even bring America back to where it was; but He can only work in us when we get down on our knees at the foot of the cross and acknowledge Him as Lord of our lives. God can’t work in a nation unless He is working in the hearts of the men and women ruling the nation.

I know God has appointed the politicians, so I will honor them for that reason. I am also extremely grateful to our military and law enforcement for the dangerous and thankless job they do. But I also know that we are all fallen humans, and that only the cross of Jesus can change anything for the better. The Israelites cried out for a king like themselves, and look where it took them; the American public listens to officials who promise to fix everything, and look where it has gotten us.

Lord Jesus, save us from ourselves!

I have to apologize for how sporadic I have been at posting over the last month, and I will warn you that the rest of the summer will likely be as bad. Summer is crazy, and I will admit that the majority of this post was written in a sleep-deprived state.

As I was brainstorming at the beginning of the week about what to write for the blog, the only thing that came to mind was a subject that both circumstances and people have challenged me with lately; getting out of my comfort zone and allowing God to grow me and make me like Him.

Can you spell P-A-I-N?

But I can honestly tell you that it is worth it.

Why?

Because I end up discovering each time that the little bit of pain wasn’t so bad, in light of the growth that happened and the opportunities He gave me to show Him to the people around me. I don’t want to get to Heaven and see all the opportunities I missed, because I was afraid of discomfort.

As an introvert, I have a hard time trying new things and going places I’ve never been before, but that’s not what I have been called to. Jesus didn’t call me to a quiet boat ride on a sunny day on a peaceful lake; most of the time, it’s downright stormy, and those are the times that Jesus calls me to stand beside Him. My job is to trust Him as He navigates through the wind and the waves, instead of curling up in a ball in fear. I claim to serve a big God, and I need to walk my talk. If I don’t allow Him to pull me up, I won’t see how big and awesome He is and I won’t be able to shout encouragement to the others around me who are weathering storms.

I miss out on so much when I am worried about myself and my comfort; but when I trust Him, He fills me to overflowing with Himself, and it spills out on the people around me. God has big plans for me, but I have to be willing to take a hold on them.

The headlines on the news are awful these days, but the one thing that sickens me even more is the way so many Christians respond negatively to all the bad news and tear people down with words and actions – or on the contrary, I sometimes hear of Christians calling for toleration and acceptance of things that are clearly sin. However, I am not going to pretend to be above all this; it is something I have been working through for some time. I am so tired of all the fighting and all the struggle, so what is the right way to respond?

People are not going to truly see Christ in me when I respond to sin in anger and hate, nor will they see Him when I compromise His truth for lies. It isn’t my job to judge people for their sin; I am no better than they are. God says that breaking one of His laws is like breaking all of them, so in God’s eyes, everybody is equally guilty of sin. At the same time, His truth is the only solution for these issues that are tearing our world apart, and we are wrong to stand in the shadows and say nothing.

If Jesus Christ loved the people on this earth enough to come down and die for us, I think I can trust His power and His love to eventually win the day, instead of my ranting and raving or my standing silently in the shadows.

So how are we to deal with the major controversial issues that come up so often? Personally, I have found that the only times I can reflect Christ are the times when I keep in mind what I was called out of and what I have been called to; I am a sinner saved by grace. Can I do less than share God’s truth in love with the people around me?

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”    Romans 12:12

There are so many verses in the Bible that are like a heavyweight punch to the gut when it comes to how we are to live as Christians, and Romans 12:12 is one of them. The entire chapter is that way, but for now, I’d just like to dissect this one verse.

“Be joyful in hope…” The first thing I need to do is properly define hope. Hope is more than a strong desire for something to happen; it is an expectation of good things that will come. God has promised us rewards in Heaven, in addition to eternity spent with Him. I don’t think we need any more reason than that to be joyful, no matter what trials we are going through.

“Patient in affliction…” God doesn’t disappear when things get bad; He’s there, working behind the scenes, waiting to come out with something awesome – even if we never see it here on earth. His goal is for us to be like Him, and He can and will use the ugliest circumstances for His glory.

“Faithful in prayer…”  This is where I struggle the most. Something will be heavy on my heart, and I will pray hard about it… for a few days; so recently, I wrote myself a note and put it somewhere I will see it a lot, to remind myself to pray persistently. But why pray if God has a perfect plan that cannot be altered? I believe that it is more for our benefit than His. We cannot have a relationship with somebody we do not talk to. And, I think that those times when we are persistent in prayer are times when we learn to love like God does. God does not give up on anybody; I shouldn’t, either.

I know I am young and I haven’t been ‘through the wringer’ like so many people, but I am able to say a lot of this from experience. I have a brother in Heaven, and watching him go there instead of come home from the hospital was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Also, I recently experienced something difficult within the circle of people I love the most; in one way, it’s not over yet, and it may not be for a very long time – so I am preaching to myself as I write about being patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.

Over the past several weeks, I have shared with you a list of some of God’s amazing blessings. I talked about God’s ‘image’ blessings, His ‘family’ blessings, and His ‘servant’ blessings. However, God does not just provide for and bless us here and now; He is preparing a place for us in Heaven. Once again, I cannot take credit for this list, but I was asked not to give credit to the person who shared this list with me.

• We will be going home

This earth is not our home; we are merely stopping by on our way to our eternal home. As a Christian, I have a place reserved for me in Heaven.

• We will have bodies like Christ’s body

We are living in an imperfect world, so we have imperfect bodies; but when we reach Heaven, we will receive bodies with no limitations and no decay.

• We will live in perfection

When sin entered the world, death and pain made their grand entrance; but there will be none of that in Heaven. God rules in Heaven, so nothing less than perfection should be expected from Him.

• We will rule the universe with Christ

I mentioned in a previous blog post that we are co-heirs with Christ our brother, so we will have the privilege of ruling all His dominion with Him.

• We will be married to Christ

The church is called the bride of Christ, and in the Bible, Christ coming back for His church is likened to a groom coming for His bride.

• We will be God’s treasured possession

I also mentioned several times in a previous blog post that we are grafted in to the family of God; even so, we are not loved any less than His chosen people. He loves us like a father loves his children.

• We will have unspeakable joy

I have a pretty good imagination, but even in my wildest dreams, I could not even begin to imagine the joy that will be ours when we reach our eternal home. We live in a world with limitations, but we serve a God who is infinite in every way.

This is the third installment in my short ‘series’ about some of God’s incredible blessings to us. So far, I have shared with you some of the blessings God has given us by making us in His image and some of the blessings that are ours that are ours as His adopted children; this week, I will be talking about the blessings we have as His servants. Again, I cannot take credit for this list, but I was asked not to give credit to the person who shared it with me.

• We are servants of God

Being a servant of God is an incredible honor. Our world says the opposite, that it is better to be the boss, but there can be no greater honor to serve the God who saved me and who loves me no matter what.

• We are God’s friends

God is the creator of the universe, and He is the lover of our souls. He hung the stars in their places, and He wants a personal relationship with each of us.

• We are God’s ambassadors

The King of kings has entrusted us with a message for the world. If we don’t share it, who will?

• We are God’s temple

When we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, He came to live in us, making each of us His holy dwelling place.

• We are God’s royal priests

In the Old Testament, the priests were the only people who had direct access to God, but when Jesus died on the cross, the veil in the temple that separated men from God was torn; so now, we have direct access to God.

• We are Christ’s body

In the New Testament, the church is referred to numerous times as the body of Christ. We are all different parts, but we fit together as a body. If we would stop squabbling and work together, God could use us more effectively.

• We are being made holy

To be holy is to be set apart for a special purpose; our purpose is to serve Christ, and we can only be effective in serving Him when we understand who He is, in comparison to who we are.

• We have God’s spiritual armor

This life is a war, and God has given us everything we need to fight effectively; however, it is up to us to pick up our armor and become engaged in the battle.

• We are shielded by God’s power

Not only do we have weapons from God, we have His divine protection behind us; our Master has not left us alone in our fight.

This is the continuation of a short series I started two weeks ago about some of God’s blessings. Last time, I talked about some of the ways God has blessed us by making us in His image; this time, I will be talking about some of the ways He blesses us when He adopts us into His family. Again, I cannot take credit for this list, but I was asked not to give credit to the person who share this list with me.

• We are made in the image of God

The Jews are God’s chosen people and are considered a natural part of His family, but God has adopted the rest of us and grafted us in, so we have been given some of His characteristics as though we were His natural children.

• We are the chosen ones

This point refers to the doctrine of election; God chose the Jewish nation to be His special people, but He chose us to be a part of His family through adoption. Nobody is saved without being chosen by God.

• We are set free from the penalty of sin

When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He paid the penalty for sin and defeated death once and for all; when we accept His free gift, we can spend eternity with God in Heaven.

• We are declared to be as righteous as God

When we accept God’s gift of grace, Jesus takes all our sin and exchanges it with His grace; that is what God sees when He looks at us, and that is all we need to be declared righteous.

• We are clothed with Christ

The Bible says that even our righteousness is as filthy rags. The only way to be cleansed is to accept the fact that only Christ’s sacrifice can clean us, and believe that being clothed in His grace is enough.

• We are given a new birth

When we were physically born into this world, we were born into Satan’s kingdom of darkness; when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are born into God’s kingdom of light.

• We are God’s children

When we are born into God’s Kingdom, He sees us as His children; as His children, we are under His care and protection. There can be no better place!

• We are given God’s nature

When we accept Christ as Lord of our lives and ruler of our hearts, He comes into us and changes the way we think, act, talk, etc.; this change is more radical for some than for others, but there is an undeniable change, because there is a new nature that presides.

• We are co-heirs with Christ our brother

When we entered His kingdom, it wouldn’t have been unfair of God to make us His servants; but he considers us more than that. As His children, we are co-heirs with Christ; we will have part ownership of Heaven!

If you asked me who I think the strongest people are, I would say parents; and since Mother’s Day is here, I am going to talk specifically about moms. Obviously, I am not a mother, but I have been extremely blessed to have one of the best moms out there, and I would like to share with you some things I have observed about her over the years.

In addition to her outward beauty, she has a great inner beauty that stems from her love for God, and that naturally spills over into the relationships she has with other people.

Physically, I am probably stronger than she is, but she is one of those people who has an amazing inner strength that you get glimpses of as you get to know her.

My mother will be the first person to tell you that she is not perfect, but her humility and willingness to fix things she messes up have been an awesome example to me. She has shown me by example how important it is to hold fast to fundamentals without being so stuck to them that there is no room left for God to work through us.

I could go on and on, but of all the traits I see in my mother, there is one trait that stands out to me above the rest, and that is her perseverance. She has shown me by example what it is to keep running the race and never give up, because we have a God who will never give up on us.

The other day, I asked her what her favorite Bible verse is, and after some thought, she told me that it is Hebrews 4:16, which says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” My mother is the person she is because she makes use of her access to the source of everything she needs.

If God sees fit to bless me with children someday, I want to be like my mother. I want to be a mom who doesn’t give up when things get hard, and a mom who is willing to be stretched and grown; in my inexperienced opinion, that is the best kind of mom.

Being thankful to God for His blessings is something I have been told to do my whole life; but recently, I was reminded of a few of the many ways God has blessed me, and I would like to share some of those things with you over the next few weeks. I cannot take credit for the list of blessings I will be writing about, but I was asked not to give credit to the person who shared this list with me.

Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” Obviously, He didn’t create us to physically look like Him, but He did give us the incredible privilege of being like Him in other ways; so today, I will be talking about His ‘image’ blessings.

• We have been given a intellect similar to God’s

God has given us the ability to solve problems, have relationships, think, etc., like He can – obviously at a different level, simply because He is God – but to have an intellect like His is a blessing I tend to take for granted.

• We have been given emotions similar to God’s

Without emotions, we would be like robots; able to process and function, but unable to feel anything. There would be no joy, pain, love, anger, or any other emotions that color our time here on earth. I have found that I have a tendency to complain about emotions, but I need to stop complaining, realize what a gift it is, and use it the right way.

• We have been given volition similar to God’s

God gave us free will because He didn’t want robots, then we turn around and blame Him for the problems we make. He wants us to want Him, but He won’t make us serve Him; not because He can’t, but because He loves us and He wants a real relationship with us.

• We have been given a social nature similar to God’s

In Scripture, there are implications of the members of the Trinity talking together, and there are numerous cases recorded of God coming down to talk to humans. Some people are more social than others, but we all have something in us that makes us desire relationships with other people.

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

We live in such a fast-paced, competitive culture that it makes my head spin just thinking about it; but why? What is behind the drive to climb to the top of the ladder? I think it is because of the hole in each one of us that can only be filled by God.  Saint Augustine said it best when he wrote, “God has made us for Himself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Him”. We will always be searching for satisfaction until we let Him satisfy us.

We were made to live in God’s presence, but every person falls short of the mark and there is nothing we can do to earn it; so He sacrificed His Son to give us the gift of eternity with Him in heaven, and that is something we can never repay. When we accept that gift, our job is to live as faithful citizens of our new homeland by being good ambassadors until we are called there; we are representing the King of Heaven. How awesome is that!

This is the only area of life where there should be absolutely no moderation; the apostle Paul was obsessed with preaching Christ when he wrote, “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” I’m not saying that we need to preach to everybody we come in contact with; but do people know who we serve? Do we love others like Jesus did when He lived on this earth? Just how ‘sold out’ are we for Christ?

If I were to personalize that verse and say, “For to me, to live is_____ and to die is _____” and be honest about what would fill those blanks, I’d have to admit my life definitely falls short of what it should be. But His goal is for me to be more like Him, so as I allow Him to work in me, He will conform me to His image. My goal is to keep going, so I can one day say, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die it gain.”