God Makes Himself Known

"He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel" (Psalm 103:7)

God reveals His plans and His works.

That seems pretty obvious to those who have been reading the Bible for a long time. We know the stories of the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We know about baby Moses in the bulrushes. We've read about the slavery in Egypt and the exodus through the Red Sea.

And it is pretty amazing when we stop to think about it. The creator of the universe is sovereign over all the events of history. He is unique and separate from His creation. He is not dependent on anything or anyone.

Yet He chose to reveal His plans to Moses and the children of Israel. He revealed the history of creation and the history of the nation of Israel. He revealed His righteous requirements through the giving of the law. He revealed His character through His interactions with the children of Israel.

God didn't have to do that. He could have continued to be sovereignly ruling over the universe without ever telling us a single thing. He would have been completely justified and totally satisfied.

But He chose to make Himself know to Israel, to you and to me.

Because He wanted to.

He wanted to tell us about Himself and His plans, because He wants us to know Him.

And that is the kind of God that we need.

God is Keeping Track

"The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed." (Psalm 103:6) Some people will rally to this verse and use it as a cry for social justice. Justice for the abused children and battered wives. Justice for the minorities. Justice for the falsely accused. And there certainly are biblical grounds for those cries for justice. God is aware of the sins against people and is keeping track. He is on the side of the oppressed. But let's move it to a more personal level. When you are ridiculed for standing up for the truth, God will bring about judgment. When you are cast out of your circle of friends for choosing to obey God rather than them, God is aware. When your family abandons you, because you want to do what God wants, He will work righteousness. That judgment and righteousness may not be seen in this lifetime. It may not be until you step into heaven and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." But God is keeping track. God will judge. God will bring about righteousness. So that means that you don't have to. You don't have to carry about bitterness toward those who ridicule you. And you don't have to be arrogant because you are better than they are. You can humbly submit to God, choosing to obey Him in any situation, regardless of the consequences.

Bless the LORD, O my Soul!

"Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits,
Who forgives your iniquity,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
Who satisfies you with good
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's"
(Psalm 103:1-5)

God is truly worthy of praise. From the depths of our being we should be filled with praise for the great things that He has done and continues to do for us.

He forgives our iniquity. He knows all about every single sin that we've committed, or even thought about committing. Yet He chooses to forgive every single one of them. Not just the small ones. Not just the big ones. Not just the ones for which we've pled for forgiveness. Not just the ones that others know about, but we've kept hidden. He forgives them all.

He heals all our diseases. The human body is amazing. Doctors and medicine can do amazing things. But the fact that a doctor can prescribe an antibiotic depends on a God who maintains the universe. Otherwise, there would be no pattern for the doctor to follow; no system to let the doctor know what to expect. Sometimes God heals through miracles. Sometimes God heals by promoting the person to heaven, where there is no pain or sickness.

He redeems our lives from the pit. Many people think they've got their lives all together. Or at least they give the appearance that they do. Yet they are spending their resources looking for something. Something that satisfies. Something that takes away the pain. Something that makes them happy. They don't realize that they are in a pit. Only God will set them free from that pit, set their feet on solid ground and satisfy them.

He crowns us with steadfast love and mercy. Little kids often pretend to be a king or a princess and wear a crown. It's a symbol of importance and power. It makes us feel good. Imagine wearing a crown of love and mercy, instead of power. Love and mercy from God controlling your life, giving you purpose, overflowing into your entire being.

He satisfies us with good. Gluttony, pornography, greed, envy, alcohol and drug abuse. All of these and more are common in our circles. Bitterness, selfishness, pride, arrogance, prejudice. All of these are just as common. And they all reflect dissatisfaction. We are not satisfied, not content. So we look for others and other things to fill the emptiness. Only God can satisfy us with good things. Good things that will not be harmful to ourselves or others.

Look through that list again. All those needs of the soul can be met in God. And when those needs are met, our deepest burdens are lifted and we can be renewed like an eagle.

Is there any hope?

We use the word "hope" an awful lot in every day conversations.

We hope it will be warmer tomorrow. Or cooler if it's July.

We hope that we'll get over the flu.

We hope that we'll get that new job.

We hope that we can take a vacation this summer.

We hope that...

Hope is an anticipation that something is going to change for the better. And there's nothing wrong with having hope.

But I wonder if sometimes our hope in these things makes God out to be a vending machine. If I hope enough, He'll give me what I want.

If I hope enough, I'll be praying more. And therefore God will give me more. If I truly believe with all my heart that God wants me to ... - then He'll do it.

Well, when you put it that way, it does sound a bit ridiculous, doesn't it?

Even if you start applying the "hope-prayer principle" to bigger, more spiritual things, does it make it right?

I hope that my children will follow the Lord.

I hope that my marriage won't fall apart.

I hope that I'll have victory over temptation again.

The problem with hoping turning to wishing turning to praying turning to demanding is that we put ourselves in the place of God.

And if God doesn't carry through, we're not so sure we want to follow Him.

"He didn't give me what I wanted last time. Why should I trust Him again?"

In reality, if that's your attitude, you didn't trust Him the last time. You trusted yourself.

And you failed miserably.

The best guarantee is to hope for the things which God promises to us. And there are a lot of them.

Two big ones:

Eternal life (1 John 5:12-13)

Resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

If we put our hope in those things, the other things for which we hope, don't seem to matter quite as much.

Reading Acts

Through a series of e-mails and links, I came across this Bible reading plan:

The Change Your Mind Plan - This plan is very simple: “1. Choose a book of the Bible. 2. Read it in its entirety. 3. Repeat step #2 twenty times. 4. Repeat this process for all books of the Bible.”

The author suggested starting with the smaller books and working up to the larger ones.

I decided that since my pastor is going to preach through Acts, I would start with Acts. BTW: Acts is NOT one of the smaller ones!

My goal was to read seven chapters a day, which would allow me to finish the book every 4 days.

A holiday with little to do and an audio Bible at the treadmill later...and I've gone through the book twice already.

Eighteen more to go!

Some observations:

1. There are a lot of courtroom scenes in Acts. I've noticed this because I had a discussion this week with our associate pastor about 1 Cor 6. The courtroom scenes in Acts are believers being taken to court for preaching the Gospel, which is not the case in 1 Cor 6. But when the believers went to court in Acts, the Gospel was presented, Christ was magnified and the believers were pleased to suffer for the Gospel.

2. The spread of the Gospel will not be hindered. The believers suffered persecution, ridicule and death. But God's plan of spreading the message of salvation through the cross of Christ was not hindered.

3. The believers took a variety of opportunities to share the Gospel. They were 1st century humans, so I suppose they missed many opportunities like 21st century humans. But it is interesting and encouraging to see the various places where the believers evangelized, as well as the variety of people who listened.

Looking forward to learning more from Acts in the next weeks.

Do you want to join me?

Are You Ready for Change?

Someone posted on Facebook a cute saying about next year being the beginning of a new book.

"Go out there and write a bestseller!"

My response was a bit cynical: "I think I'd rather have a boring year that doesn't make the bestseller list for drama, suspense, scandal and plot twists. That probably ain't gonna happen either!"

It is the end of a year and the beginning of a new year.

Or the beginning of a new day. Or a new hour. Or a new minute.

And one thing that is consistent is change.

Health. Wealth. Security. Death. Job. Children. Church. Home. Weather. Friends.

Everything and everyone around us is going to change.

Life will be different at the end of 2015. Or the end of this week. Or the end of this day.

Sometimes the amount of change that we go through in a certain period is overwhelming. And when we can't deal with change, then we have problems.

In the midst of all the change, there is a constant.

"For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6).

God does not change.

What a blessing that is!

In the context of Malachi, God is reminding Israel that His immutability, the fact that He doesn't change, is to give them comfort.

He made a promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the patriarchs of Israel. And He isn't going to change His mind.

Israel had been continually rebellious to God and His plan. But God didn't change.

His standards remain the same.

His promises remain the same.

His character remains the same.

We will face change. We will change.

Our entire world could be turned upside down very easily.

But God will never change.

All I Have to Be

I've been cleaning and baking this evening listening to the Ball Brothers on Spotify. About every song I hear is my new favorite.

This one: All I Have to Be by the Ball Brothers, is a great reminder of setting priorities. Whether we're trying to decide what to do on a particular day, or trying to decide a major for college studies, we need to be reminded that those tasks and goals are simply side issues.

They are not irrelevant.

There are biblical commands and principles to guide us in our decisions - the big ones and the little ones.

But all we have to do is wrapped up in Christ.

"All I have to be is Yours."

The demands on us each day are great. We have appointments to keep. We have bills to pay - so we go to work.

The kids need us. The church needs us. The parents need us. The boss needs us. The customer needs us.

And these are not bad things.

But all those things can crowd out all that we need to be: "All I have to be is Yours."

What does that mean?

First, it speaks of a relationship. We are His. He has purchased us with the blood of His Son (1 Peter 1:18-19). He is our Father; we are His children.

Second, it speaks of activity. As we go about the tasks each day, we need to remember that we are ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20). Our words and actions should be drawing attention to Him, not to ourselves.

So, as you look at the list of tasks to accomplish in the next days, remember, "All you have to be is His."

His child.

His instrument.

Everything else on your to-do list is a reflection of your position and your responsibility in Christ.