When Has God Failed Us?

I love Spoken Word Poetry, and I've heard a fair share of some very popular and some not so well known poets before, but today I stumbled across this guy... and well, I'm sold.

So I figured I'd introduce you to him as well, if you don't already know who he is: Propaganda.

When has God failed us?

Love Them.

Simple Sunday: Questions

This life is a journey, and everyone's journey matters, especially yours. If you're in Christ, your journey, my journey, your church's journey, my church's journey, a church in the middle of nowhere, a church in the center of somewhere... are all connected, are all a major part of everyone's journeys. Where one suffers, we all suffer, where one rejoices, we all rejoice.

That's community. 

That's the bride of Christ.

But in the midst of this we all have questions, questions we seek the answers for...

"We are all searching for answers. That’s a given. We all are.
The answers are rarely what we think they are.
But they are also exactly what we think they are.
Thus the searching never ends, because the answers are often never the end.
The answers lead us farther on this journey towards God and His heart." -Ben Langevin

"The answers lead us farther on this journey towards God and His heart."

But what questions are we asking?

What do our questions stem from?

What do our questions do for the good of society?

Do our questions contribute to this journey towards God's heart?

Our answers to our most difficult questions, our most painful questions, our most heated questions, our most desperate questions, our most lonely questions, our most selfish questions...

...may just be in the questions themselves.

Living Off Balance

What do you lean on? What do you trust in?

This is an excerpt from a sermon by Pastor Joshua Harris of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me." -John 14:1

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight." -Proverbs 3:5-6




Living Off Balance from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.

Simple Sunday: Sacrifice

There's no such thing as half-surrendering. 

 

Today's Simple Sunday is a guest post by a friend of mine. I was scanning my tumblr blog earlier today and saw what she posted on this subject, needless to say I was convicted of my own view of surrendering, so I thought it would be a perfect post for today.

 

There's no such thing as half-surrendering. 

 

I’ve been thinking about sacrifice lately. Sacrificing everything. Surrendering everything. I’ve been asking myself if I would be willing to surrender everything to God; if He asked, would I surrender my education, my house, my money, my comfort, my time, my reputation, everything I’ve worked for? All of it? And while He does of course ask for some of these things, I’ve also been thinking that if I choose to surrender it all with the expectation or prediction that He won’t choose to ask me to actually give it up, is that really surrendering? Is that true sacrifice? When God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac in Genesis 22, Abraham submits to God not with the expectation of Isaac ending up safe and unharmed; his promise to God, his promise to sacrifice, was without expectations of any kind. He didn’t expect God to stop him seconds before. He expected and trusted that regardless of how crazy the sacrifice, God knew what He was doing. Abraham expected to sacrifice his son whom he loved, a dear part of his and others’ lives and hearts. He was willing.
I’ve heard people lightly say that they would be willing to sell every possession they own, but they just don’t feel called to that.

Saying that you would sell every possession you own isn’t a light phrase. If you say that with the intention of being fully willing to actually sacrifice all of that, that is a phrase serious beyond measure.

However, if you say that phrase with the expectation, prediction, or verdict that God would never ask you to give everything up…well, it’s just words. Big words. Fancy words. Meaningless words with endless echoes. It’s basically putting words in God’s mouth, saying that He would never ask you to sacrifice a certain something even prior to asking Him.

It says that as Abraham was on the brink of beginning the sacrifice, an angel of the Lord stops him and says, “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

I don’t think any angel will be telling me that sort of thing anytime soon. “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your _______, or your ________, or even your ________.”  I just want to be conscious of the fact that while yes, God may not call me to sell every possession I own and be a homeless wanderer who brings the gospel to whoever I find…I need to be willing to. Whatever He calls you and I to do will be at great cost, worth great sacrifice, just in different ways.

Nevertheless, what if He does call me there? Will I hear? Or have I already tuned Him out? There is no such thing as true half-hearted sacrifice, but if there was a way to half-surrender to God, I should think it’s like selective hearing: hearing only what I want, when I want, how I want; likewise, surrendering only what I want, when I want, how I want.

I don’t think that that kind of sacrifice is very agreeable with Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice. That should be my example.

I’ve been thinking that every sacrifice to the Lord has roots that lie in surrendering my will to God’s…I pray that, as this rests heavy on my heart, I would find joy in the beauty of surrender and sacrifice. And I can promise you I will be praying for you too, friend, whether I know you or not. :) Surely Jesus didn’t mean for us to carry these crosses alone.


-Holly Fohr, read more at Holly's blog

Church

It is becoming very, very evident as I read through the book of Acts: The Gospel is not complete without the church. So when problems arise in the church and when the church misrepresents what it was called to become and called to do... Are we in fact misrepresenting not only 'Christianity' but Christ himself?

And not only Christ, but also everything fulfilled in Christ?

When the church fails, I think we are misrepresenting everything God has been doing since the very creation of the world. It's time to change that.

Nonetheless, the church is God's idea, God's grand masterpiece.

Out of all the ways He could have proclaimed Jesus' resurrection, He chooses to send out 12 Apostles (11 original plus Matthias).

One Apostle for every tribe of Israel.

This symbolism just reaffirms Jesus' statement in John 4:22, "for salvation is from the Jews."

The church had to start through the teachings of Judaism... the law and prophets of Judaism is what pointed all along to Christ.

In Luke 10, Jesus sends out 72 evangelists.

It's odd why he chooses this number, 72 was the number of the members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court at that time.

So Jesus is resurrected.

One of the first questions the disciples ask Him is, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

Jesus doesn't say yes or no. He just says, 'it's not for you to know when... BUT YOU will receive power.

Almost as if Jesus is saying, 'Ya know what, I'm not gonna do anything. I'm the King, I think I've pretty much solidified that with the whole raising from the dead and all... but when the Holy Spirit comes upon you... well, YOU can restore the kingdom, I'll sit by and watch my Spirit work through you and in you.'

"He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 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." -Acts 1:7-8 ESV

Jesus sends out 12 Apostles.

Jesus has a supreme court of evangelists.

And the by product of the Holy Spirit coming down is a birth of a family of believers, an organization like no other: the church.

The church is the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel. The church is what bridges the gap of the Old Testament law and synagogue with the New Testament fellowship.

The church is God's kingdom manifested on earth.

The church is what God has set up to give us a glimpse of what heaven will be like.

The church is what Jesus came for.

The church is what Jesus prayed for.

The church is what Jesus died for.

Let's stop messing with it.

Let's stop messing around with it.

Let's stop 'dating it' as Pastor Joshua Harris would say.

Let's commit to it.

The church is the most important thing on the planet.

"In and of itself, the church is merely a mirage of the eternal kingdom of God. We are not subject to preachers or priests but a King; we don't have affiliation to members but kinship to citizens; we don't own property, we have dominion. Praise be to our God and Father who made us a kingdom of priests and princes!" -Dr. Mark Moore, (My Witnesses)

Perspective

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t" - John Piper

Just a small, but important thought: Your worship has to be pure and real before your mission statement can be.

Never Once - Joplin Video

Please continue to pray for the Joplin, MO community. And please keep the east coast in your prayers as Hurricane Irene continues to spin towards the north east.

Simple Sunday: Waiting Skillfully

Waiting.

We all have to wait on something at some point in our lives.

For some it seems like they are always waiting on, or for, something.

Seasons of waiting.
And the only encouragement we ever seem to find from people is the simple phrase: "Patience is a virtue."

I really hate that phrase.

Because I already know that.
I wanted some encouragement that would actually help me, or teach me something.

And in that slight irritation, I wonder, 'For me, right now in this period of time...what is patience?'

How can I be patient in this situation?

Not in the noun sense of the word, but the verb.
The act, process, or state of being patient.

Patience is wise waiting, or in other words skillful waiting.

Waiting well.
Are we waiting well?

Am I waiting well?

Patience can sometimes mean, waiting long enough for our minds to change... or waiting long enough to prove the test of time that what we desire really is what we really, really want.

Do we put ourselves in positions where we CAN change our minds though?

Because if we don't... we cheat ourselves out of a blessing.
Patience is a virtue, after all.

Before we fully determine the 'How' of our waiting or our patience... maybe we should determine the why...

A good question should be, 'Well, what are we waiting for?'

'What really is it that I'm desiring?'

And why should God provide those desires for me?

Does what I want fall in line with God's will for my desires?

Isaiah said in chapter 26 verse 8:

"Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."  

Walking in the way of your laws...

Jeremiah 6:16 says,

"This is what the LORD says:   
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
   ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
   and you will find rest for your souls."

If we are at rest, we are at peace, our desires are either fulfilled or at ease with whatever the outcome was or is.


We wait for you...

Isaiah 40:29-31 says,

 "He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint." 

Your name and renown are the desires of our hearts...

Psalm 135:13 says,
"Your name, LORD, endures forever,
   your renown, LORD, through all generations."


So in this Simple Sunday post, I want to encourage all those who are waiting...

Waiting for the tests to come in.
Waiting for your next paycheck.
Waiting for him to 'pop the question'.
Waiting for the 'right one' to come along.
Waiting for God to direct your career.
Waiting for that promotion.
Waiting for ______________ fill in the blank.

Patience is a virtue. However, unlike most, I don't want to leave you with just that.

Determine today that you will skillfully wait, by making sure your desires are truly God honoring, and ones that will bring God's name and fame glory.

Because EVERY part of our lives are to be about Him.

"Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."  

Can we truly pray that?

One last story.

It was about two years ago that I heard of Frankie's story, though this occurred many years ago.

Frankie lived in a small town in Illinois, he was a lover of movies, video games, and a big football fan.
Frankie was an easy going guy, a devoted Christian, he loved going to church and he loved Jesus Christ.

At a young age, Frankie was diagnosed with cancer.
A rare form of cancer that chemotherapy doesn't work very well against.

He had a 7% chance to survive.

On the first day that Frankie was admitted to a hospital to begin receiving treatment, the doctors had a talk with him... as all doctors do in situations like those.

The family was gathered in the room as the doctor began speaking. He told them how this process was not going to be easy, that the treatments were going to hurt, such as bone marrow transplants and other regimens, and that they were going to do everything they could for him, but they can't make any promises.

Giving the usual talk he continued to explain all the things that they were going to use... everything modern medicine had to offer was going to be on the table... to make this...

...comfortable for him.

Everyone in the room knew what that meant.

To make things comfortable for him.

Because 7% literally means it would take a miracle from God to heal.

The doctor continued talking about how much pain Frankie would experience for the last 6 months of his life.
Frankie's mom lost it and had to walk out of the room.

But Frankie... after the doctor finished...

Looked down at his hand...

Nodding his head, running his fingers across his skin... spoke.

Saying, "It's not going to hurt as bad as having nails shoved through my hands or my feet and hanging on a cross for reasons and things I didn't deserve. It's not going to hurt as bad as what Jesus did for me on the cross."

For Frankie he came to a crossing.
He walked up to the crossroads.
His body grew weary.
But in those moments he chose to wait skillfully. To wait upon God by aligning his desires with the desires of Christ.

Frankie had no control. He needed to wait for something.
He needed to wait for a bone marrow match.
He needed to wait for certain treatments to become available.
He needed to wait for God to move.



Frankie had no other option than to believe that God is who He says He is, that His promises are true, and that God's idea of better is somehow going to be better than his own.



Frankie waited.
But He didn't wait sitting still, he didn't wait in idle mode.

Frankie instead decided that God had him here for a reason. For such a time as this.

And Frankie shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with every person he came in contact with up until his last breath was taken from him.

His goal, alongside his dad who stayed by his side through it all, was to make the name of Jesus famous.

Frankie's desires were in line with God's.

Frankie got what he wanted.

He wasn't healed.

But he got what he waited for.

He waited for God's best for His life... and God delivered.


------
So for us, are we waiting for and holding on to what we want deep within us... or will we begin desiring God's best for us? Which may mean something different than we first wanted.

Sometimes waiting skillfully demands us to change the 'why' and 'what' of what we are waiting for.

God delivers.

Will we believe that God is who He says He is, that His promises are true, and that God's idea of better is better than our own?

Old Testament Connection

Well, this will be my first post. Nathan is a great friend of mine, and has helped my faith to grow. As he said before, our writing styles will be different, but we both seek to serve God first, and I think that will show. This post won't be long, it is almost 4am here and I am ready for work. I get up early and do some reading in the morning, and feel the need to share some of the thoughts I have had this morning, short posts this early may become regular. Well, here we go.

"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.   Selah   I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,'and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.    Selah    I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!"

-Psalm 32 ESV

I love how often the writings in the Old Testament directly line up with the New. It is a common thought that when Jesus came He changed everything for us. But the more I read in the Old Testament after receiving an understanding of scriptures in the New, the more I realize that this does not seem to be the case at all. When Jesus came, He simply clarified what the Old Testament was trying to tell us all along. Let us look closer at Psalm 32 again, at what David wrote. In the beginning we are told that those whose sins are forgiven are blessed. Blessed are those who's iniquity is not counted against them. God was offering forgiveness of sins even  before He sent Christ, knowing that at some point Christ coming would erase the iniquities of those who sought after God. This scripture tells us to bring our iniquity into the light that it may be forgiven, because David writes that while he hid his sin he felt the pressure of his guilt and iniquities. However, when it was confessed to the Lord that he felt hidden from his troubles. Protected and delivered by the Lord. The same is still true for us. When we bring our sin and iniquity to the cross, and give them over to Jesus, his blood cleanses and protects us. We have not been saved by our works but by our faith. Which brings me to my final connection this morning. Look at the last verse again. the righteous are told to be glad in the Lord and rejoice. All the "upright in heart". Now that is important. Unlike common Jewish tradition it wasn't the upright in deed that is being praised here, but the upright in heart. David knew that man failed when it came to living that sinless life, but his faith and his hope was in God's deliverance. He praised the Lord his God with every fiber of his being, and lived a life sold out to God and in complete trust. This is why David is called a man after God's own heart. And it is the same system that Jesus brought to us. When we give our hearts over to God, in complete faith, trust, and praise, we have done as God asked us to do. Yes we will still make mistakes, don't hide them. I'm not saying run to all your neighbors and say how you screwed it all up again, but just be honest with yourself, and with God. You messed up, you need him. Be comforted, that is why Jesus came for us. We mess up, it happens, so did king David, I guess we are in pretty good company after all huh?