Do We Trust God?

   Over the past couple of months, my faith in God has been tested like never before. Part of what I have been dealing with is the question, “Will God provide for me? Will God truly be enough?” I know that I am not the only one who feels this way and I am going to assume that this runs through the minds of many of you. We worry daily about our current and future financial status, we worry about the health of ourselves and loved ones, and the list goes on and on and on. Some of these worries make us freeze in our footsteps and does not allow us to live the life we were created to live. As I struggle with this, I am reminded of Matthew 6:25-34:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

   Now, I want you to sit back and think. What is your calling in life? This does not necessarily mean what career you are supposed to have. I’m asking, what has God called for you to do? I think when we think about callings we automatically assume our jobs or vocational ministry but it could be as simple as cleaning the church every week or as extreme as packing up your bags and moving to a 3^rd world country. What is the desire and passion God has placed inside of you?

   After you begin to formulate that calling, I want you to ask yourselves, what is holding me back from fulfilling my calling? Often times it is a fear of failure, being sick, being uncomfortable, etc. Maybe you are fulfilling things you feel God has called you to but what else can you be doing which you are not? The fear of not knowing what will happen to us if we take this step of faith causes us to fall short of the potential which we have.

   

   I now wish to ask you, is this how you would encourage others to live out their faith in God? Would you truly advise someone, “Be faithful in giving but make sure you hold back some so that you’ll be safe and secure?” Would you teach your kids to love and follow God in this fashion?

   Imagine yourself 50 years from now on your deathbed. Could you truly be satisfied with the life you lived if it was all about being safe and secure? Perhaps tomorrow you’ll find yourself in a car accident which will paralyze you for the rest of your life. Would you be able to live with yourself for not having done all that you could for God?

   Over the past several months there has been a buzz in the Christian community about the famous pastor from California, Francis Chan. He is an extremely effective preacher and has a very “successful” church. In the midst of his fame and church growth, he has decided to lay it all down because he feels God leading him to do so. He also has struggled with the fact that he oftentimes hears his name more than the words, “Holy Spirit.” What’s in store for him? He does not know but he is choosing to follow God’s call.

I struggle deeply with giving God open-handedly. I am a person who REALLY needs a plan that entails some form of security but God is slowly changing that. As I am learning to be open to the will of God, I am finding myself much more excited about life. There is a great deal of fear in not knowing what tomorrow holds but I realize that if I give myself wholeheartedly to God, there is no limit to what He may do. Perhaps it will be to lead just one person to Christ or maybe a million. Either way I hope that one day I can die and tell everyone that I lived the life God had intended for me to live. 

Everyone Who Confesses the Name of the Lord Must Turn Away From Wickedness

            As I was reading through 2^nd Timothy yesterday (which is probably one of the books I’ve read through the most) there was a little line in there which I don’t seem to have ever noticed. It comes from the second half of verse 19, in the second chapter. It reads, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” Although this statement seems to be extremely simple and basic for the Christian faith, it gave me a strange sense of comfort and revelation.

            In our post-modern world, there is very little desire to label things right and wrong. I place much of the blame on fundamentalist Christianity which was/is so great at labeling every piece of society. As we have progressively learned to think outside the box and become more ecumenical (thinking of the WHOLE Church), it has caused many of us to rethink and evaluate our current understandings of what makes something okay and what makes something not okay. There have been many great benefits for critically thinking about our values, yet there seems to be some issues and problems which have arisen.

            Usually in any reactionary movements, there seems to lack a visible boundary. In our case, the line between right and wrong is almost invisible. This causes tension with Scripture because the authors of the Bible seem to make a great distinction between right and wrong. Our problem probably lies in our reaction to what we have found to be wrong.

            When I read the Gospels and even the Pauline Epistles, wrongful ways of living and sin seem to be addressed with grace and not hostility. If we look in 2 Timothy 2:24-26, Paul writes that people who are in opposition to the gospel are to be treated kindly so that they may repent and come to the true knowledge of God. Christians are instructed to interact with others in kindness and patience. Paul knew early on that threatening people and yelling at others were probably not the best medium to deliver a message about grace and mercy.

            Going back to our main passage, I find myself in a dilemma. Usually when I commit sin, I find myself unmoved by the wrongful deed I just committed. I have been desensitized to seeing God treated with injustice and dishonor. I am coming to the conclusion that I need to take seriously the things of this world which displease God and treat those things the way in which God would treat them. However, if I am to break away from sin, I realize that others may not find it so easy themselves. My reaction to other peoples’ struggles must be gracious and not one of condemnation.

We must not be blind to the fact that we have much sin in our own lives and need Christ’s cleansing blood to make us pure. The disastrous result of sin must be realized and we cannot take it lightly. It is God’s command that we move away from the old life to the new. At the same time, we as Christians must realize that others struggle with sin too and they need to be forgiven also. Our understanding of grace must go beyond ourselves. After all, didn’t Christ come for those who were sick?

I would like to leave a video clip of a sermon I heard at the Desiring God Conference for Pastors. Every time I watch this clip, it makes me see how so many of us “Christians” have labeled certain things as wrong while we believe we are always right. This clip humbles me and causes me to ask for repentance for not being able to break away from sin and at the same time condemning others for their own struggles… may you be the redeemed rose.