Isaiah 55:8 & 9 - "This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours." TLB
I don’t know if it has to do with aging or getting wiser...let’s just suppose it has something to do with getting older, but I am continually intrigued with the expectations we have of life and the disillusionments we so often live in. Today, as I was reading and thinking, these thoughts came to mind.
Expectations too often do not take into consideration unknowns. I have certain expectations when it comes to doing a job around the house, but because of the unknowns I may experience frustration and disillusionment. That little house job almost always takes longer than expected because of the unknowns I run into while trying to finish the job. When dealing with people I can almost always count on my expectations being frustrated because their abilities are unknown to me or their understanding of my expectations is unknown to them. If I am not careful those disappointments can lead to broken relationships. How about my expectations with God.?
I know far too many people who have expectations of God and far too often they experience disappointments in God because of the unknowns. Unknowns like - when is it time for me to die?; or when its it time for my spouse to die?; or will I get cancer?; or will I lose my job?; or why do I never have enough money? You get the picture? I am sure you are right now thinking about those times when you have felt disappointed with God - or at least disappointed with what has happened to you. Times when you can remember asking where God was when....? And we move from there to disillusionment. We become disillusioned with our faith and with our God. If we follow that course we soon live in constant disillusionment with God, religion, people, government, our pastor, our employer even our family. The disillusionment, if not dealt with, can soon turn into depression and we live in darkness for long periods of time. Depression can turn us bitter and we soon find that nothing satisfies.
Here is where I see the problem. We cannot know all there is to know about God and His plans. We know in part because we have His Word. But there are things we will never know. Even Jesus said only the Father knows when He will send Jesus back to earth. Only the Heavenly Father knows when life will begin and life will end. His Word says God knew me before I was even thought about. My expectations of God then are misplaced if I don’t know His plans. Why do tough things happen to good people? I don’t know, because I don’t know the plans of God. Why do the unrighteous seem to get away with the evil they commit? I don’t know, because I don’t know the plans of God. Why do people die, seemingly before their time or at least before we are ready for them to die? I don’t know, because I don’t know the plans of God. But, because I don’t know the plans of God is no call for me to be disillusioned about God. Because my car doesn’t start in the morning does not mean I go around disillusioned about cars the rest of my life. I had no way of knowing my battery was going to fail. To be disillusioned about unfulfilled expectations when we are dealing with unknowns is at best unfounded.
Perhaps a better approach, at least when it comes to our expectations of God is this - understand we don’t understand. Rather than live in unrest, a lack of peace, depression, and disillusionment, could we find rest in trusting that there really is an Almighty God Who really does have a plan? Could we come to an assurance that we are really not as wise as we might think and that there is One who is all wise and all knowing? Could we come to the end of our pride and humbly submit ourselves to the hand of a God who may at times seem to be unloving toward us and others and admit that there is One who has a plan...it just isn’t our plan and things just didn’t work out the way we had them all worked out?
I for one, refuse to be disillusioned about God when everything I expected of God doesn’t work out the way I had it planned. I will, instead choose to love Him anyway and submit my expectations to Him to be adjusted according to His ways which are higher than mine. I will not blame God for the ills of this world, instead I will blame the hearts of men who continue to place unrealistic expectations on people to understand, unrealistic expectations of people to live according to their plans, unrealistic expectations of God to see that only the things I want are realized. I will adjust my thinking to include this thought - I don’t know and I don’t understand. But, I don’t find anywhere in the Bible calling me to understand. I find repeated scripture calling me to follow God in faith believing His plans are best.
As I write this - it gets longer and I must stop. But I have more thoughts about all of this. Maybe another day. I don’t know about tomorrow, but another day...if it is in His plans.
You are loved,
Pastor Roger
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
What Can The Righteous Do?
If you are like me, you are watching national events with interest and sometimes in angst. When I look at the world events my concern deepens. Am I afraid? Let's be honest - some. Aren't you? But, I have to keep reminding myself of Whose I am. I am a child of God and 1 Thessalonians 5:9 tells us we are not appointed to endure the wrath of God but rather His salvation through His only Son Jesus Christ!
I cringe at times as I see things I once thought unshakable begin to crack and crumble. My sense of security is sometimes shaken as I watch the mighty dollar lose value and the economy upon which the world has depended upon to be strong begins to shake and crack. I wonder what tomorrow holds as I watch giant industries thought to be above financial ruin begin to fall apart before our very eyes.
So what can the righteous do? We could become angry, throw bricks, shout objections and use worldly tactics to bring about what we think should be done. Or, we can fall on our faces before Almighty God, claim His promises, and live in the realms of His unshakable Kingdom. That doesn't mean I won't write a few letters or make a few phone calls to my legislators and it doesn't mean I will stop proclaiming from my pulpit the truth of God's word regarding the sin of man. I will continue to voice my voice to the government and from the pulpit. But I will find a contentment in understanding that only when the foundations of this world are shaken can the foundations of Eternity be revealed in their fullness. It is during these kinds of times I go into spiritual hiding. No, I don't put my head in the sand and ignore what is going on. What I mean is I simply go into the quiet place with God and I hide in Him. "You are my hiding place, You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance, whenever I am afraid I will trust in You."
If you are afraid - fear not for God is in control. Place your faith in Him. Hide yourself in Him. He will fill your heart with songs and He will deliver you from the battle of this world.
You are loved,
Pastor Roger
I cringe at times as I see things I once thought unshakable begin to crack and crumble. My sense of security is sometimes shaken as I watch the mighty dollar lose value and the economy upon which the world has depended upon to be strong begins to shake and crack. I wonder what tomorrow holds as I watch giant industries thought to be above financial ruin begin to fall apart before our very eyes.
So what can the righteous do? We could become angry, throw bricks, shout objections and use worldly tactics to bring about what we think should be done. Or, we can fall on our faces before Almighty God, claim His promises, and live in the realms of His unshakable Kingdom. That doesn't mean I won't write a few letters or make a few phone calls to my legislators and it doesn't mean I will stop proclaiming from my pulpit the truth of God's word regarding the sin of man. I will continue to voice my voice to the government and from the pulpit. But I will find a contentment in understanding that only when the foundations of this world are shaken can the foundations of Eternity be revealed in their fullness. It is during these kinds of times I go into spiritual hiding. No, I don't put my head in the sand and ignore what is going on. What I mean is I simply go into the quiet place with God and I hide in Him. "You are my hiding place, You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance, whenever I am afraid I will trust in You."
If you are afraid - fear not for God is in control. Place your faith in Him. Hide yourself in Him. He will fill your heart with songs and He will deliver you from the battle of this world.
You are loved,
Pastor Roger
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Worship
Psalm 95:6-7 - "Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, for He is our God. We are His sheep, and He is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear Him calling you today and come to Him!" TLB
Worship. We hear that word so often in our church circles. We have come to identify worship in several ways but mainly we define worship as something we do on Sunday morning at church. I believe we are far removed from the truth about worship when we define it as such.
First, we must discover what worship means. Worship is something that comes from our heart and mind. It is a decision we make to declare something worthy of our devotion and undivided attention. Therefore, worship may have nothing to do with church or God at all, but rather is a simple act of placing extreme importance on someone or something. Second, we must discover how we worship. It may mean nothing more than giving someone or something credence of its/their existence. It may mean we get up every morning and acknowledge that someone or something takes priority in our lives on a daily basis so we pay homage. We may throw money at it/them. We may say words of honor. We may even carry on conversation.
The kind of worship I am speaking of is the worship of God, the Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth. I struggle with this definition of the worship of God...three songs, scripture, a message and a prayer. What? Listen, I can get in my car everyday turn on raunchy music for three songs, read a chapter of a dirty magazine, listen to a good self-help guru and pray to a plastic icon on my dashboard and call it worship but it certainly is not worship of Almighty God. So Godly worship really is more than that. True Godly worship is first, acknowledging Almighty God as the one and only true God. Second, confessing that His Only Begotten Son is Jesus is the only way to eternal salvation. Thirdly, receiving Him as your Lord. Fourthly, repenting(turning away from) the former things in your life. And finally, living everyday for Him. To me, those are the primary elements of worship. The songs, scripture, messages, teachings, prayers...they are all important, but they should be the things we do as a result of our love and honor for Almighty God. If we are not careful those things become idols, things we do out of habit, things we soon say are mandatory.
That greatest worship we can give to God? Our lives, our love, our trust, our time, our talents, our goals, our family, our job...basically, let us kneel before the Lord our God our Maker, for He is our God. Come to Him with all that we are and ever hope to be. That is worship.
You are loved, Pastor Roger
Worship. We hear that word so often in our church circles. We have come to identify worship in several ways but mainly we define worship as something we do on Sunday morning at church. I believe we are far removed from the truth about worship when we define it as such.
First, we must discover what worship means. Worship is something that comes from our heart and mind. It is a decision we make to declare something worthy of our devotion and undivided attention. Therefore, worship may have nothing to do with church or God at all, but rather is a simple act of placing extreme importance on someone or something. Second, we must discover how we worship. It may mean nothing more than giving someone or something credence of its/their existence. It may mean we get up every morning and acknowledge that someone or something takes priority in our lives on a daily basis so we pay homage. We may throw money at it/them. We may say words of honor. We may even carry on conversation.
The kind of worship I am speaking of is the worship of God, the Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth. I struggle with this definition of the worship of God...three songs, scripture, a message and a prayer. What? Listen, I can get in my car everyday turn on raunchy music for three songs, read a chapter of a dirty magazine, listen to a good self-help guru and pray to a plastic icon on my dashboard and call it worship but it certainly is not worship of Almighty God. So Godly worship really is more than that. True Godly worship is first, acknowledging Almighty God as the one and only true God. Second, confessing that His Only Begotten Son is Jesus is the only way to eternal salvation. Thirdly, receiving Him as your Lord. Fourthly, repenting(turning away from) the former things in your life. And finally, living everyday for Him. To me, those are the primary elements of worship. The songs, scripture, messages, teachings, prayers...they are all important, but they should be the things we do as a result of our love and honor for Almighty God. If we are not careful those things become idols, things we do out of habit, things we soon say are mandatory.
That greatest worship we can give to God? Our lives, our love, our trust, our time, our talents, our goals, our family, our job...basically, let us kneel before the Lord our God our Maker, for He is our God. Come to Him with all that we are and ever hope to be. That is worship.
You are loved, Pastor Roger
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Trouble or Honor
Romans 2:9-10 - "There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.* But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile." NLT
One of the funniest things I have ever seen is a dog chasing its tail. No matter how many times he runs around in circles, he never is able to catch his tail. The next day the dog seems to have forgotten what it learned yesterday and goes through the whole ordeal again, never achieving his goal - catch that tail.
Now, I don’t want to compare human beings to dogs, that is not my intent, but the actions of humans really doesn’t differ too much when you consider their lifestyles. I have watched humans who do very much the same thing. Every day they go through a routine that looks something like this - I know I sinned yesterday, I asked God to forgive me, I don’t want to do that again, today is a new day, bummer, I did it again. It is an endless cycle similar to a dog who can never catch his tail.
The Word says, trouble and calamity will come to those who keep on doing evil. Have you ever wondered why it is you seem to experience trouble and calamity on a daily basis? May I suggest you read the Word. You are living in exactly what the Word says. Sometimes we just do stupid things that have some built in consequences. But too often we experience trouble and calamity because we keep doing what is evil in the sight of God. As an example, did you know that envy can rot your bones? Proverbs 14:30 - "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." NIV I am not saying that just because you have arthritis in your bones you are full of envy, but it causes us to take a look at what we are practicing in our hearts. Are we at peace in our hearts? If not, we may be causing damage to our health. Proverbs 3:7-8 - "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones." NIV
I am glad the Word doesn’t stop with a curse. This portion of scripture ends with a blessing - but there is glory and honor for those who do good. A good accountability question for us to ponder today is this - what am I doing? Do I continually chase my tail by doing evil over and over again or am I doing a good thing by honoring and loving God? Most of the time the evil we continually do is nothing more than a bad habit that has taken over our hearts. It is time to develop a new habit - get serious with God, repent, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you strength to break the old routine and begin seeing "tail chasing" as something worthless. Understand that God wants to bring honor and glory to you from Him by chasing Him, not your tail.
You are loved, Pastor Roger
One of the funniest things I have ever seen is a dog chasing its tail. No matter how many times he runs around in circles, he never is able to catch his tail. The next day the dog seems to have forgotten what it learned yesterday and goes through the whole ordeal again, never achieving his goal - catch that tail.
Now, I don’t want to compare human beings to dogs, that is not my intent, but the actions of humans really doesn’t differ too much when you consider their lifestyles. I have watched humans who do very much the same thing. Every day they go through a routine that looks something like this - I know I sinned yesterday, I asked God to forgive me, I don’t want to do that again, today is a new day, bummer, I did it again. It is an endless cycle similar to a dog who can never catch his tail.
The Word says, trouble and calamity will come to those who keep on doing evil. Have you ever wondered why it is you seem to experience trouble and calamity on a daily basis? May I suggest you read the Word. You are living in exactly what the Word says. Sometimes we just do stupid things that have some built in consequences. But too often we experience trouble and calamity because we keep doing what is evil in the sight of God. As an example, did you know that envy can rot your bones? Proverbs 14:30 - "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." NIV I am not saying that just because you have arthritis in your bones you are full of envy, but it causes us to take a look at what we are practicing in our hearts. Are we at peace in our hearts? If not, we may be causing damage to our health. Proverbs 3:7-8 - "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones." NIV
I am glad the Word doesn’t stop with a curse. This portion of scripture ends with a blessing - but there is glory and honor for those who do good. A good accountability question for us to ponder today is this - what am I doing? Do I continually chase my tail by doing evil over and over again or am I doing a good thing by honoring and loving God? Most of the time the evil we continually do is nothing more than a bad habit that has taken over our hearts. It is time to develop a new habit - get serious with God, repent, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you strength to break the old routine and begin seeing "tail chasing" as something worthless. Understand that God wants to bring honor and glory to you from Him by chasing Him, not your tail.
You are loved, Pastor Roger
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