Waiting for Isaac

Katrina, Courtesy of NASA

Have you ever seen those Christians who, like Nancy Kerrigan, ask "Why me?" When disaster strikes? Something inside me wants to ask, "Who would you rather this had happened to?"

I understand the questioning. There have been times in my life that it seemed I was hit simultaneously on all fronts with problems, disasters and heartache. And I will also be honest and admit that there have been times when I have wondered why. Not that I believed God brought these problems into my life, I know He's a good God and that anything evil doesn't come from Him. But I would wonder why He allowed them. I would give Him my best Nancy Kerrigan prayer through my tears and ask "Why me?" as if I thought someone else was more deserving of sorrow and pain and struggle than I was. 

Take No Thought

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking though can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to  morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knowest that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."~Matthew 6: 25-34

Take no thought... It's important to realize what Jesus is saying here. He isn't telling us not to think ahead, he isn't telling us not to plan for the future. The word "thought" in this passage is the Greek word merimnaō which means to be anxious about, or worry. What Jesus is telling us is that God has my back, he's watching over me, he will provide for me, he is my Jehovah Jireh.

I See Rain, Lots and Lots of Rain

(Laughing in the Rain (c) Greything via Creative Commons @ Flickr.com)

Walking by faith. It's sometimes easier said than done. I love my church. Have I said that lately? I don't go to one of those "feel good" kind of churches that perks you up so that you can have a good attitude for a week and then come back for a refill when the feeling wears off.

We have some light messages, but the vast majority of them are designed to convict you and point you in the direction of living more Christ-like and less narcissistic and selfish. The lessons are also heavily centered on responsibility -- personal responsibility for your circumstances, and responsibility as a steward for everything you have dominion over, which would be... well, everything if I read the creation story right.

Roaring Like a Lion

(Roar (c) iam_photography flickr.com Creative Commons License)

My God's not dead, He's surely alive

He's living on the inside, roaring like a lion.

Catchy tune, but some questionable lyrics. 

I has been my pleasure since Friday night to attend the Supernatural Lifestyle Conference with Kevin Dedmon. There is one more session in a couple of hours at the Fellowship of Christians here in Russellville, Arkansas.

I had never heard of Kevin Dedmon before, and I don't attend FOC regularly. But, they frequently host some extraordinary events, and this is another one of them. I haven't noticed a single thing Kevin Dedmon has said that doesn't line up with God's Word. If I had, I wouldn't have attended every session. 

This definitely is not one of those conferences where you sit back in comfortable anonymity, take notes, and get educated. This is experiential, hands on, in your face training in spiritual warfare.

God of Abundance

"Overflowing Hospitality" PhotosByDavid under Creative Commons License

I am a God of abundance. I will never run out of resources; My capacity to bless you is unlimited. You have access to as much of Me as you have faith to receive. Rejoice in My abundance--living by faith, not by sight.

~Sarah Young, Jesus Calling

It is so easy to lose our perspective when we take our eyes off of God and look at our circumstances instead. We get caught up in what we see and, while those are facts, those things exist, they are not Truth. 

And, the real problem is that what we concentrate on, what we look at, what we think about, tends to grow. So, if you are worried about a lack of finances and concentrating on that, you are, in effect, watering that plant of lack so that it will grow.

Who do you think you are?

"Tornado" (c) Jmos via Creative Commons License; Flickr.com

I'm a big believer in faith. The Bible says that without faith, it's impossible to please God. I study faith, I listen to faith ministers, and I attend a full-gospel faith church.

But, I have to tell you, there is something odd about some of the people in the "faith movement". You know the ones I'm talking about. I'm sure you've met some of them.

They are the ones who shake their heads and tsk, tsk, when a fellow church member faces a challenge in his or her life. They huddle together in a corner wondering what sin Suzie committed to bring such a disaster into her life. Or they wonder how Bob and Sharon failed in raising their children, because they just didn't turn out right and always seem to be getting into trouble. Or they think it's a crying shame that Dave's faith wasn't strong enough to prevent his illness.

I'm certainly not going to tell you that I have it all figured out, because I don't. But, I can tell you that there are some things I do know.

I know that when bad things happen to us, they don't come from God.

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." 

~ John 10:10

There really shouldn't be any question in the mind of a Christian as to who steals, kills and destroys. You can only give what you have, and I'm pretty sure God doesn't have a storehouse of evil to torture us with for any purpose. God doesn't send us bad things to teach us, or train us, or strengthen us, or test us. What He has to give is life more abundantly.

I also know that trouble comes to everyone.

Don't think for one minute that you can ever develop your faith to the point that you won't have any problems in this life. Do you really think that's possible? What about the apostles? Do you think their faith was undeveloped? Look at the life of Paul and his "light afflictions" that are far worse than most of us will ever experience. Would you say that he was not a man of faith?

And, if the example of Paul isn't enough, consider Jesus, the Christ, the only begotten son of God. Do you think he lacked faith? Look at what he suffered. Surely if faith alone could prevent bad things from happening, the Bible would tell a completely different story.

In fact, this is what Jesus told us:

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

~John 16:33  

I want to really dissect this verse. He begins by saying "These things I have spoken unto you."  What are the things he had just said? He had just told them that He was going away so that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, could come. He said that we should ask and we would receive so that our joy would be full, and that whatever we ask the Father in His name and will be given to us. He said that in him, we would have peace, or tranquility.

And, just as life wasn't a rose garden for Paul, or Stephen, or Peter, or Jesus, he tells us "In the world ye shall have tribulation". Just in case you have any doubt in your mind about what tribulation means, this is the Greek word thlipsis, and it's bad. It means: affliction,anguish, burdened, persecuted, tribulation, trouble. As a noun, it means: to crush, press, compress, squeeze, break; pressure, compression; distress, calamity, persecution; heavy, burdensome weight, agitation, disturbance.

This is Jesus speaking. These words are written in red in my Bible, and probably in yours as well.

But, don't despair. Look what they are followed by: a three-letter word "but". "But" is a conjunction, and it means simply that Jesus wasn't finished talking. "But be of good cheer." This is the Greek word tharseo, which means to have courage, or to take comfort. (Interesting, in that He has just promised to send "the Comforter".)

Why are we to have courage, take comfort and be of good cheer? Because, Jesus said, "I have overcome the world." Overcome is from the Greek word nikao, to subdue, conquer, overcome, prevail, get the victory.

He has stripped evil of its power and ability to harm us. Oh, it can still come upon us, but it can't destroy us.

Remember the story of the two houses: one built on the sand, and the other built on a strong foundation. The storms pounded both of the houses. The house built on sand was destroyed. But the house built on the firm foundation, the house that was fortified by faith, the house that was filled with the Comforter, stood strong.

I wish I could tell you that when you surrender your life to God and make Jesus your Lord and Savior, that your life will be filled with nothing but good. But, I can't.

What I can tell you is that God is faithful.

"For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."

~Isaiah 41:13

I can also tell you that no matter what happens, it will be alright. I've read the end of the story, and it's a happy one.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

~Philippians 4:13  

Putting it in Print

My book "Standing in Faith: How to Keep the Faith When Things Look Bad" is now available at amazon for Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007U9T1WC

If you are a member of Amazon Prime, you can borrow my book from the lending library for free. If you don't have a prime account, the cost of the book is $4.97.  If you do read my book, I'd appreciate a review (good, bad or indifferent!); it will help me know what people are looking for before I publish volume 2.