Same But Different

Same But Different
December 30, 2013
Malachi 3:6  "I, the LORD, do not change. . ."

The Lord works in ways we do not always understand.  It is impossible to predict what He is doing, what work He is intending, what work He is doing in our lives right now.  In an effort to understand Him in our present situations, we define Him according to how He appeared or interacted with us in our past.  We project onto Him our interpretations of what He did for us last year or last decade.  If the Lord allowed a tremendous blessing in our lives, then He will always allow a tremendous blessing in our lives.  If the Lord allowed us to experience loss, then clearly He will always allow us to experience loss.  If the Lord did not answer our prayer last time, then He will not honor it this time. Our thinking of Him is flawed, when and if we limit the Lord to the manner in which He acted in our past situations.

The truth of the matter is the Lord is not limited by your imagination or understanding.  And to try and predict the work the Lord is doing is only a feeble attempt at controlling Him.  The Lord has free reign to work in our lives as He pleases and it is not always the same.  Just because the Lord allowed you to experience loss last year does not mean He will allow the same this next time around.  You cannot box Him into past circumstances.  While the Lord is free to do what He wants, He also wants you to give Him free reign in your life to the point you and I are not fighting against the work He is currently doing.  It is easy to confuse His character with His works.  He character will never change, but His workings are always new.

The children of Israel tried to do this; they tried to box the Lord into thinking He would always deal with them the exact same same way as the set of circumstances before.  He rebuked them and said, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."  When the Lord said this, yes, it was to a specific people at a specific time, but the verbiage He used was to project it was a constant state of occurrence.  It was meant for that time and for the rest of the time.  The Lord doesn't just do a "new thing" one time.  It is a constant state of His character.

The Lord is the same; He does not change.  His heart is the same; it does not change.  His actions, however, are unique for every person and every new set of circumstances, based upon all the variables only He can comprehend.  The Lord is always moving forward.  While His laws for mankind are the same; He is still free to do a new work in your life and mine.

If we allow the Lord to truly be lord of our lives, then we are also giving Him free reign to do a new work.  Do not let the Lord's workings in the past paralyze you from fear of Him working that same way for your future.  It might be different this time.  He may have been shaping your character or growing your faith.  Maybe He was cleaning house.  You cannot predict the work of the Lord and I have grown to understand He works in ways I could never imagine. The more you and I try to understand what He wants to do, the more we put limits on what we will allow Him to do in our lives.  Free reign means free reign; so give it to Him.  Let Him be the same God but working differently as He sees fit.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Ps 77, Is 49, Hebrews 13:8

Cause

Cause
December 23, 2013
Luke 2:10  "But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.'"

When Mary first found out she was pregnant without having been with her husband, she had cause for alarm.  She believed the report that the child would be from the Lord, but surely she had a few random thoughts during the pregnancy that caused her some perplexing emotions.  You and I think we have a lot to deal with in life, but when Joseph found out his wife was pregnant when he had not been with her, he had cause for alarm.  He had a lot on his plate going into that first Christmas.  Right after the birth of Jesus, an angel appeared to shepherds out in the field, not a natural event.  The shepherds had cause for alarm, maybe even trepidation.  There were a lot of intense emotions going into the first Christmas, from a human perspective.  All of which was difficult to comprehend at the time.

But every step of the process, (Mary dealing with an unexpected pregnancy, Joseph dealing with others viewing him as living with an adulterous wife, shepherds dealing with a frightening appearance of angels), was met with someone from heaven reassuring them it was going to be OK.  This event in life was not meant to cause alarm.  It wasn't intended to bring turmoil or difficulty or frustration, it was meant to cause joy.  The exact words from the angel were, "WILL CAUSE GREAT JOY." (emphasis added).

The Christmas story was anything but idyllic at the time.  If that had been my life, I would have thought about quitting.  But it was meant to cause great joy, not alarm.  While Christmas in the present certainly causes frustration from the economy, mixed emotions from family gatherings, and lonely nights, it was originally intended to cause great joy.  The birth of Christ was and is an enormous event for you and me.  We should be full of joy if we have Christ in our lives.  If you do not have joy this Christmas, then maybe you are missing Christ in all of it.

I can venture to say the only thing that got Mary though the pregnancy and birth of her son was realizing it was the Christ.  I bet the only thing that got Joseph through the first Christmas was realizing it was the Christ.  The shepards were able to calm down once the angels re-assured them it was the Christ.  After they all realized it was the Christ, they were able to experience the joy in Christmas, despite their own unique situation and experiences surrounded the surreal event.

If you are lacking joy, consider realizing the Christ.  It was meant to CAUSE GREAT JOY for all people.  "All people" means you.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Matt 1:18-21, Lk 1:26-38, Lk 2:8-20

God Owes You

God Owes You
December 16, 2013
Isaiah 64:6  "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. . ."

Wouldn't it seem nice for a moment if God owed you a favor.  To make the scenario even better, you could maybe choose what it would take to pay off His indebtedness.  And you could determine the exact moment of pay-off, like when you think you need it most, when you've gotten yourself in a pickle.  Then you could receive something nice and feel guilt free for enjoying it; after all it was owed to you.

It is absurd, however, to think that the Lord would owe a human any amount of debt, whether in returning a favor or money.  But you and I act like the Lord owes us something.  We do good deeds and we keep score.  We obey the Lord's commands and have a running tally.  We give of our time and money, and have a detailed record to prove it.  While we will never outright declare the Lord owes us for any of this, we think it when we need a favor.  When we get into a pinch or a tricky situation, we pray to the Lord for help and then sit with a sense of entitlement because of all the favors we've done for the Lord.  After all, it's the least He could do for all we've done for Him.  It's time He makes good on those favors.  Maybe our giving to the Lord was with good intention, but surely He was noticing our efforts.  Surely He was keeping a tab.

To say this gently, the Lord owes you nothing.  The Lord owes me nothing.  The Lord is indebted to no man and will not be held hostage for the good you think you have done in your lifetime.  Anything you've done for the Lord should have been done out of the goodness of your heart.  If not, you should have kept it to yourself.  It's hard to do though, give without slightly feeling good about it, like you've made the score uneven in your favor.  I might suggest that anything good you or I have done was because WE owed the favor.  Whether we helped the needy or gave money at church, we have an obligation to the Lord for all He has ALREADY done for us.  If you've given anything, it was about time to return the favor.  The scales have and always will be tipped away from you when compared to the Lord.

It is easy to hope He might have taken notice of your passed deeds, especially when you're in need now.  Maybe He'll take it all into account.  The fact of the matter is, He wants to help you in your time of need, only He isn't going to base it upon the good you've done in the past.  The Lord isn't' going to weigh your good past when considering helping you in the present.  They are not correlated.  It is irrelevant to Him.  He wants to help you now and will consider your situation with MORE favor than you think you deserve.  If you demand the favor, don't expect Him to perform per your wishes.  The Lord never works like that.  He works in a way that is truly in your best interest, even if it means not pulling you out of that tricky situation.

So go ahead and do good deeds, only don't keep score.  And go ahead and ask Him for help when you need it, only don't ask when considering your spotless record (because it really isn't that spotless).

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Ez 33:23, Rom 3:3-19, Rom 8:28, Rom 10:3-13