Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Jesus is more needed than DOMA

While the news that the Supreme Court has ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional is disappointing, I am not surprised nor am I discouraged. If we look at other governments throughout history of the world (and many even today), American Christians are better off than many others. Many have been imprisoned or killed just for having a Bible. We need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and “bloom where we are planted” both in our location and our point in history. Besides, as the song goes: “This is not our home, we are just passing through.” God did not promise us that our road on earth will be easy. In fact, he said it would be just the opposite. We need to realize that America is not the promised land and it never was.

What the world needs is not DOMA but Jesus. Hebrews 11 lists Old Testament saints that heard the Word of God and acted on it. Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Samson, David, and Samuel: those names help us recall their stories of faith and victory by the hand of God.  At the end of the chapter in verses 36 and 37, the writer of Hebrews lists out many things that happened because people believed in God. After reading that list, ask yourself this question, have I ever endured those types of persecutions? Would you be willing to suffer like that for the sake of the Gospel? I look in the mirror and feel convicted because I feel awkward about telling others about Jesus so I don’t. Some people are killed for telling others about God but still do it. Those people are more aware of what is at stake than we are. If we truly believed that they were going to hell because they do not know about Jesus, we would shout it from the rooftops. But we don’t.

So, I have some more questions for you and me to answer. What does being a Christian mean to you? Does it mean that you are a fairly good person and you “don’t drink or chew or go with guys that do”? Does it mean that you go to church when it is convenient for you? How does being a Christian affect your life? Do you know more and spend more time talking and reading about a sports team than the Bible? We are called to love people that are different from us. We are called to watch what we say about others. Are these qualities present in your life? There are many areas in my life that I need to work on. I urge you to pick one. Pick one area that God has been waiting for you to give to him. That may be pride, how you talk about others behind their back, lack of prayer time or time in the Bible, your temper or your laziness. Whatever it is, God is asking for you to trust that He knows what is best for you. You can give it up and He will help you through it.

What difference does being a Christian make in your life? Today, make sure you show someone what difference it has made in your life and can make in their life.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

What good can come from this bad week?


Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

The lesson for this past Sunday in Children’s Church was that God’s purpose for His plans is for His glory and our good. Some of the kids mentioned some of the hard things that they need to do: chores, school, and waking up were top on their lists (Oh, for the simple life of a child). While these may seem small to us, they are big to them. Also, the lesson still applies no matter how big or small the hardship is.

Whatever the difficulty, God is using it to shape you and mold you into the person that he wants you to become. If you think that you are too old to change, God promised to finish the work that he started in you. He started making you perfect. Are you there yet? If not, God still has work to do and you never know when God will use you to minister to someone else. Many times, we can catch a glimpse of how God is growing us. School and chores are not always fun but we grow in responsibility, in knowledge, in learning habits, and in submitting to authority. These may not be on our minds when we go through them but one can easily see the end results.

There are other times where we cannot think of any possible good result to come out of a difficult situation. As many of you know, my wife has been battling chronic pains in her stomach for years and it has flared up again lately. When I see her in pain, it is a helpless feeling. When I see tears in her eyes, I think, “God, why? What good will come of this?” Here are a few thoughts on how God can use these times for his glory and our good:

  1. These are the times where we are driven to our knees. We are weak and we need God. If you are in a hole, the only way to look is up. Sometime, we are the ones that dig the hole and sometimes, we are put into a hole that is there. Regardless, God is there at the top waiting for us to pray to Him.
  2. This is a test of our faith. James 5:11 says, “Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” I have thought it would be easier to go through this if it was because of persecution from people and us taking a stand for our faith. But if we think of the story of Job, he endured sickness and deaths in his family because God was proving a point to Satan, which Job knew nothing about. Job has confidence that God was “compassionate and merciful” not just in general but to him specifically. That is why he was able to be steadfast.
  3. We are called to be witnesses. Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” In all we do, people are watching us. We claim that our God can handle all of life’s problems but do we live it when the problems are ours? There is a quote from St. Francis of Assisi that many preachers are criticizing that goes “Preach the Gospel and if necessary, use words.” Without getting into what is necessary for the Gospel, this quote applies when we go through trials. We need to show others how big our God is and that he can help us through our struggles before we tell others that God can help them through theirs. Without this demonstration, it is just words to them, empty platitudes.

Trials are not fun. James 1:2-4 says “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Since we will never be perfect this side of heaven, God has work to do in all of us. Faith is trusting in the character of God through the dark times when we do not see the good that will come out at the other end.