Who do I think that I am?
Jeremiah 18 starts with the Lord telling Jeremiah to go and observe the potter. Vs 3-4 says "So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands: so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him."
The Lord then uses that as an illustration of what he can do to the nations: as He pleases.
It reminds me of the ending of Job found in Job 38:1-42:6 where God reminds Job that He is the one who created the world and has been there from the beginning of time. Job sees only this little slice, God sees it all. Who do we think we are to question him? With our limited viewpoint, what possibly makes us qualified to tell God how things ought to go.
When we consider his power. How He created the world. We create small things - He created the materials from which we create. The author and inventor of all things. With our limited power, what possibly makes us qualified to ignore God's commands for our lives?
Sometimes I must just think about how all-knowing and all-powerful He is. Who am I? This is not a lack of self-esteem on my part. Rather it is the realization that to get my value as part of His family is a hundred times better than whatever I think I get on my own. To lose myself and my will to Someone so mighty and so holy is only to lose myself to something bigger and better than anything that I could attain on my own. My ideas of greatness pale in comparison to His.
Who do I think that I am? No one, except for who God calls me to be.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
What can I risk for the kingdom?
This blog is about training for a crown that lasts. Often this is what God is teaching me through his word. Today I wanted to share what he is teaching me through another book that I read which really made me think about things.
I just completed reading the book called "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn which is about an American businessman who visits a friend in China who is part of the underground church. Quan risks his life and freedom every week when he attends church. He risks his life and freedom daily by having a bible in the house. What is on the surface a terrible situation is considered by the members of this underground church to be a blessing. They count it gain to share in the suffering of Christ. The government's attempt to squash them only goes to show how worthy Jesus is, that so many are willing to risk so much for Him.
Throughout the story Quan is constantly looking for who needs Jesus and then telling them about Him. People who are sad, people who have no hope, people in prison, prison wardens who lack higher purpose. This highly convicted me to keep a sharper eye out for the lost and then sharing his love with them. I do not risk jail as he did, I risk rejection. I risk "offending" someone.
Jesus talks a lot about suffering for Him. It occurs to me that if I am not suffering, it may just be that I'm not serving Him to the level that I should be. I'm certainly asking the questions: what more can I risk for the glory of God? What am I holding back because I am afraid? What could I accomplish for His kingdom if I drew on His strength to overcome this fear?
I don't think that is the last time I'm going to read that book. Certainly I'm going to keep asking those questions - every day.
I just completed reading the book called "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn which is about an American businessman who visits a friend in China who is part of the underground church. Quan risks his life and freedom every week when he attends church. He risks his life and freedom daily by having a bible in the house. What is on the surface a terrible situation is considered by the members of this underground church to be a blessing. They count it gain to share in the suffering of Christ. The government's attempt to squash them only goes to show how worthy Jesus is, that so many are willing to risk so much for Him.
Throughout the story Quan is constantly looking for who needs Jesus and then telling them about Him. People who are sad, people who have no hope, people in prison, prison wardens who lack higher purpose. This highly convicted me to keep a sharper eye out for the lost and then sharing his love with them. I do not risk jail as he did, I risk rejection. I risk "offending" someone.
Jesus talks a lot about suffering for Him. It occurs to me that if I am not suffering, it may just be that I'm not serving Him to the level that I should be. I'm certainly asking the questions: what more can I risk for the glory of God? What am I holding back because I am afraid? What could I accomplish for His kingdom if I drew on His strength to overcome this fear?
I don't think that is the last time I'm going to read that book. Certainly I'm going to keep asking those questions - every day.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Isaiah 29 - what is understanding?
As I work through the schedule that I have for reading through the Bible in a year I have been reading Isaiah. There have been more to confuse me than to enlighten me, to be completely honest. I was reading today out of obligation and not out of anticipation because I haven't been quite following everything that he's been saying. But now I see how there are these nuggets throughout. It seems the Lord heard me as I complained internally about reading through the prophets and answered me this way:
11 For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12 Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
I feel like the person holding the scroll but unable to to read it.
13 The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
This makes more sense to me. I see this in our world all over the place. People who are "Sunday Christians". I don't want to be this person that is there physically, but with a heart far away - merely following tradition.
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”
Reminds me of the sermons we had about God's wisdom and man's wisdom being different. I don't want to be wise in my own eyes, but relying on the Lord's wisdom. How do you do that?
15 Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us? Who will know?”
Is this partially the test of knowing if things are God's wisdom or man's? If we do things and try to hide them from God, try to do them in secret, it's not God's wisdom.
16 You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,
“You know nothing”?
Here's another way. If we're trying to tell God what we should be and what will happen, that's us leaning on our own understanding. He is sovereign over us, I pray for deeper understanding of that and releasing control.
11 For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12 Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
I feel like the person holding the scroll but unable to to read it.
13 The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
This makes more sense to me. I see this in our world all over the place. People who are "Sunday Christians". I don't want to be this person that is there physically, but with a heart far away - merely following tradition.
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”
Reminds me of the sermons we had about God's wisdom and man's wisdom being different. I don't want to be wise in my own eyes, but relying on the Lord's wisdom. How do you do that?
15 Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us? Who will know?”
Is this partially the test of knowing if things are God's wisdom or man's? If we do things and try to hide them from God, try to do them in secret, it's not God's wisdom.
16 You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,
“You know nothing”?
Here's another way. If we're trying to tell God what we should be and what will happen, that's us leaning on our own understanding. He is sovereign over us, I pray for deeper understanding of that and releasing control.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
"Love your neighbor as yourself" Galatians 5:14
Paul is talking to the Galatians about giving up trying to live by the law. The law is summarized by "Love your neighbor as yourself". We are free of the law, it's this one thing we must do. Sounds so easy, doesn't it? How do I really keep this command? Professionally I have been struggling with how to be a good broker. I started trying to be the broker that I wanted, but I'm realizing now that what I want isn't what all agents want and so now I'm trying to be the broker that they need, rather than what I need. Is this similar to "Love your neighbor as yourself"? Is part of that to not give them what my needs are - but to try to put myself in their shoes and ascertain what their needs are? What does it really mean to love your neighbor as yourself?
One thing that I know that it means is to keep from harming others. In verse 15 Paul says "If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." Using others for your own gain, gossiping, putting others down so that you look more important in your own eyes - it's so easy for us to "look out for #1" that we don't think through how our actions affect others.
Paul talks in 19-26 about the acts of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit. One of the acts of the flesh is selfish ambition. Loving your neighbor starts with looking outside yourself.
Today my prayer is that the Lord gives me sensitivity to areas where I am thinking only of myself and help me to love others.
One thing that I know that it means is to keep from harming others. In verse 15 Paul says "If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." Using others for your own gain, gossiping, putting others down so that you look more important in your own eyes - it's so easy for us to "look out for #1" that we don't think through how our actions affect others.
Paul talks in 19-26 about the acts of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit. One of the acts of the flesh is selfish ambition. Loving your neighbor starts with looking outside yourself.
Today my prayer is that the Lord gives me sensitivity to areas where I am thinking only of myself and help me to love others.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
2 Corinthians 4 - Temporary troubles, eternal glory
2 Corinthians 4:11 "For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body."
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Sometimes some eternal perspective can do you good. You might be discouraged about the unkind word you got at work, but if you try to back up and think about how Jesus sees that situation your thinking on it changes. You're no longer mad, you see it as an opportunity to show God's love. Like the old hymn says "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full on his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace." When you think about things and compare it to Jesus, much of it just doesn't matter.
While this is all true and is great to think about, I don't think that this is what 2 Corinthians 4 is talking about. At least, I don't think that anymore. I used to have 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 taped up on my mirror to study and memorize as I got ready in the morning and I thought what it meant was that putting up with life today was going to get us an eternal reward tomorrow.
But, now as I'm reading it with the whole chapter I don't think that these verses mean that exactly. Paul is talking about his suffering for Christ. He is talking about his persecution. He is talking about how his earthly life has more physical pain it today because "we have the same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak." (vs. 13) Paul says that because he believes, he has no choice but to speak and because he speaks he shares in Christ's death but by sharing in his death he shares in his life. When you're in the midst of "sharing in his death" it's easy to lose sight of someday sharing in his resurrection, but this is the reward that Paul clings to.
So, verses 17-18 don't just speak of putting up with the troubles of today, it talks of the troubles of today that arise from our compulsion to speak about Jesus. This is how we earn eternal reward - build His kingdom.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Sometimes some eternal perspective can do you good. You might be discouraged about the unkind word you got at work, but if you try to back up and think about how Jesus sees that situation your thinking on it changes. You're no longer mad, you see it as an opportunity to show God's love. Like the old hymn says "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full on his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace." When you think about things and compare it to Jesus, much of it just doesn't matter.
While this is all true and is great to think about, I don't think that this is what 2 Corinthians 4 is talking about. At least, I don't think that anymore. I used to have 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 taped up on my mirror to study and memorize as I got ready in the morning and I thought what it meant was that putting up with life today was going to get us an eternal reward tomorrow.
But, now as I'm reading it with the whole chapter I don't think that these verses mean that exactly. Paul is talking about his suffering for Christ. He is talking about his persecution. He is talking about how his earthly life has more physical pain it today because "we have the same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak." (vs. 13) Paul says that because he believes, he has no choice but to speak and because he speaks he shares in Christ's death but by sharing in his death he shares in his life. When you're in the midst of "sharing in his death" it's easy to lose sight of someday sharing in his resurrection, but this is the reward that Paul clings to.
So, verses 17-18 don't just speak of putting up with the troubles of today, it talks of the troubles of today that arise from our compulsion to speak about Jesus. This is how we earn eternal reward - build His kingdom.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
1 Corinthians 15 - The hope for our future
This is an interesting chapter. Paul seems to be responding to people in the church that don't believe that we will be raised from the dead to be with Christ and so he makes the argument that if there is no resurrection of the dead then two things:
1) Christ wasn't raised either and so our faith is useless.
2) Our life has no meaning except for the here and now. Without Jesus the only philosophy that makes sense is "Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die".
The resurrection of the dead and our future with Christ gives meaning to our today. We have purpose because we have a tomorrow. Our future with Christ gives meaning to our current suffering. Our future with Christ answers the question "What is the meaning of life?" Simple - to glorify Him until He comes. We give meaning to our lives by working to further his kingdom.
And so this leads me to question my own life. Am I living like I really believe this? Does my life look like someone who only gets meaning from my future with Christ and that everything else is futility? Money doesn't go with me, my work towards the kingdom does. If work towards the kingdom is the only thing that brings meaning to life, the only thing with eternal significance, is that reflected in my living? Or do I behave as someone who has no hope and whose only goal is how I can fill this 100 years?
Lord Jesus, reveal my priorities today and give me opportunities to further your kingdom.
1) Christ wasn't raised either and so our faith is useless.
2) Our life has no meaning except for the here and now. Without Jesus the only philosophy that makes sense is "Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die".
The resurrection of the dead and our future with Christ gives meaning to our today. We have purpose because we have a tomorrow. Our future with Christ gives meaning to our current suffering. Our future with Christ answers the question "What is the meaning of life?" Simple - to glorify Him until He comes. We give meaning to our lives by working to further his kingdom.
And so this leads me to question my own life. Am I living like I really believe this? Does my life look like someone who only gets meaning from my future with Christ and that everything else is futility? Money doesn't go with me, my work towards the kingdom does. If work towards the kingdom is the only thing that brings meaning to life, the only thing with eternal significance, is that reflected in my living? Or do I behave as someone who has no hope and whose only goal is how I can fill this 100 years?
Lord Jesus, reveal my priorities today and give me opportunities to further your kingdom.
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