Honoring God

Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.    Psalm 37:5

     There are some passages in the Bible that really make us stop and think.  Psalm 37:5 is one of those for me.  Common sense and life experience tell us that God won't give us everything we want.  It wouldn't be good for us.

      Doesn't this verse say that God will give me what I want if I am committed to Him?  Look again.  It is not  we who are committed; but, our way that must be committed.

     "So, what's the difference?" I hear you cry.  The difference is one of good verses evil.  Psalm 37 is intended to encourage righteous people to be steadfast in their righteousness.  Verse one tells us to "not be envious of those who do wrong."  Achieving desires appears to be easier for those who are not honest and do not honor God.

     What do you desire?  What steps are you taking to achieve that desire?  Are you pursuing your goal in a way that honors God?

• Does your job honor God?
• Do your relationships honor God?   
• Do your finances honor God?
• Do your hobbies honor God?

      God wants us all to be people of integrity.  In that way, we honor God.

Who do you trust?

"He knows the way that I take:  when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."  Job 23:10

     When I was first diagnosed with cancer, I wanted and needed comfort.  I knew I would find it in scripture; but, where in the Bible would I find it?  I decided to turn to the book of Job.  Job lost most of the things in life that we consider valuable.  He lost his children.  He lost his business.  He lost his house, his reputation, and yes, he even lost his health.

        Job's faith in God was strong; but, his faith in himself was stronger and that did not please God.  Job correctly claimed that he was not being punished by God for any sin he had committed; but, Job was arrogant.  He wanted God to justify Himself.  He wanted God to tell him the reasons that bad things were happening in his life.

       God never responded to Job's demands.  Instead, God made Job give an accounting of himself.  His point was that Job was not God.  Only God is God.  His job is to rule the universe.  Our job is to trust Him.

       Where do you place your trust when life goes spinning out of control?  There is only One who controls the universe.  Put your trust in Him.

       

Tomorrow

"Heaven and Earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away."  Luke 21:13

     It has been said that the only thing we can count on in life is change.  Good things happen to people:  we grow, we form relationships, we have children, we achieve, we can enjoy our own good fortune and that of those we love.  At the same time, bad things happen:  aging, accidents, sickness, financial problems, foreclosure, eviction, divorce -- the list is long.

     Jesus tells us that one thing we can count on are his own words.  He never spoke anything but the truth.  In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow.  Every day has enough trouble of its own."

     When you find that you cannot count on life, focus on what you can count on -- God's Word.  Are you worried about tomorrow?  Your worry won't change anything.  Concern yourself with today.  Ask God to take care of tomorrow.  He loves you more than you love yourself.

God of the Storm

In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion:  in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me.  Psalm 27:5


     For many years now our church has had a booth at our county fair.  It is the first booth passed by people who enter the main gate.  It is a sucker pull.  Pick out a sucker, pull it out and see if there is a color on the bottom of the stick.  If there is, you get a glow bracelet.  If not, you win the sucker you pulled.  We enjoy doing it.  The days are hot and long; but, we meet hundreds of wonderful people out for a good time at the fair.

     Every year that we have done this, our booth has been blown down in a storm.  If the storm is during the daytime, workers take refuge in the booth and, hopefully, keep it from collapsing.  If it is at night, the booth is reassembled the next day.

     The booth is frail and gives very little protection.  God, on the other hand, is God of the storm.  Furthermore, life is made up of storms.  You are probably either entering a storm, in the midst of a storm or a storm is leaving you in its wake.  Where do you take refuge in the storms of life?  They are going to be there, either coming or going.  What is your defense against the storms of life?  Whether they are physical or spiritual, remember that God is the God of the storm.  He will shelter you and keep you close by his side.

God's Gifts To You

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:11,12 NLT


Have you ever heard the saying that most Christians go home after church and have roasted Preacher for lunch? It is a sad fact that this is often true. People, whether they realize it or not, are evaluating how well they think the pastor is using the gifts that God has given him.


The New Living Translation of the Bible gives a slightly different read on a familiar passage of scripture. Here, Paul points out that these people, themselves, are gifts to the body of Christ. It is not that God gives these people gifts (although he certainly can), it is that the people are gifts to the believers. 


Do you think of your Pastor as a gift that God has given you? What about your Sunday School teachers, Music Ministers or your Host Home hosts? When we are given gifts, we are expected to say 'Thank you.' Do you thank God for these people whose responsibility is to build you up in Christ? Start thanking God for the workers who serve you. They are God's gift to you.

God's Plans for You

Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21 NIV)


"Where do you see yourself in five years?" It's a question we've all had to answer when sitting in a job interview. Are you where you planned to be five years ago? What about ten years ago or twenty? When I was a child, my goal was to be rich and famous when I grew up. I wanted to be a "movie star." What did you want to be? Are your plans God's plans? What do you think God wants you to be? He is probably more concerned with who you are. Are you the person that God wants you to be? Are your values God's values? Are your goals God's goals?


There is an old gospel song that went, "I want to be what You want me to be." Examine your goals and throw away the ones that aren't God's. You will have a better life.

Who is the Body?

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.      I Corinthians 12:12-14  NIV


     I grew up in a church where the people truly believed that those who practiced the teachings of our denomination were the only people going to Heaven.  That made sense to me because we were teaching the truth, right?


    As an adult who has more experience with scripture, that attitude frightens me, a little, because it reminds me of the Pharisees who thought they had the  express lane to Heaven and everyone else was out of luck.


    The fact is that just as individuals are given different gifts to exercise in the body of Christ, so are different churches.  One church focuses on God the Father, another on Jesus the Son and others on the Holy Spirit.  Some churches praise God with contemporary music, some with traditional hymns and some only sing Gaither tunes.


     We are all different parts of the body.  We all proclaim Jesus as Lord.  It is time we worked together as the body of Christ and ministered to those who are open to the way God will use us.  Never limit God.  He is the Father of us all.